RIGHT TO REPLY – WHY WAS MESUT OZIL OFFERED A NEW CONTRACT WHEN, IT IS ALLEGED, HE HAD DONE NOTHING TO WARRANT IT? by Ken1945
We were told a couple of days ago in an article, that Mesut Ozil had done nothing to warrant a new contract and it was the biggest risk The Arsenal had ever taken – so I decided to look back and check on some of the claims made.
Let me make it clear, that this is not an article about his salary, his commitment, his injuries, whether he should be playing or not, if he still has any worth left, should stay out of politics, taken a pay cut, and/or anything else that anyone wants to throw in…this is simply checking and presenting the facts leading up to that contract signing.
I wanted to look at the reasons why it was alleged the club had no reason to offer him a contract extension, as he didn’t deserve it. Plus, why it was deemed the biggest risk ever, to do this and if it was obvious, as stated, that at the time of doing this, everyone could see it was a mistake.
A little background first, using Wikipedia, in order to set the scene:
It was reported that the club had signed Ozil for £42.5 million, with the contract being for a period of five years on the 2nd September 2013…meaning he would have left, if no other contract had been offered, in 2018.
It turns out, however, that when the new contract was put forward, details came out that, in fact, Ozil cost the club £37.4 million, with a further £5.1 million split equally over 6 years from July 2014 and subject to CL qualification. Same value with a twist in the tail – Madrid were so confident The Arsenal would qualify for the CL they allowed this insert!!!
So, if we had sold him or let him go when his initial contract had run out, we would still have had to pay Real Madrid over £1.6 million.
However, that shouldn’t have played a part in the new contract, because if he was this spent force who had done nothing to warrant a new contract, the club would have just cut their losses, got rid of a useless player and that would be that.
I then had a look at the games played since Mesut Ozil signed for us and these figures include all the first team appearances and goals scored each season, plus the manager/coach at that time:
13/14 40/7 – AW
14/15 32/5 – AW
15/16 45/8 – AW
16/17 44/12 – AW and the season his new contract was signed.
17/18 35/5 – AW last season
18/19 35/6 – UE first season
19/20 23/1 – UE last season – MA from January to date 12/7/20
Now, during the 15/16 season, he was voted Arsenal’s player of the year, after helping to break our trophy winning drought in his first season, 13/14 and then doubling up the trophy collection again in the 15/16 and 16/17 seasons, whilst also winning the three community shield games that these FA cup wins saw us take on the premier league champions City and Chelsea (2).
Also, in the 15/16 season (the one before he had done nothing to warrant a new contract we are told), he recorded the 2nd highest assists in the history of the premier league in one season (19).
There was even more for the board to consider when offering him a new contract, that being the fact that Ozil was named PFA Player of the Month for April, November and December in..2015 no less!
As a little side piece of information, in the 2015/16 season he was named as The Best German Player Abroad, plus, of course, he was still the holder of a World Cup Winners Medal as the negotiations loomed.
So, when talks started 6 months before his contract ran out, this was what the owner, the board, AW, Gazidis and Mesut Ozil himself put forward to begin negotiations – not a bad set of negotiating chips for starters…yet, remember, he had done “nothing” to warrant a new contract!?!?
It was stated that, amongst other things….and this is the important thing to remember…that at the time of his new contract some the following points were aimed at him in the article:
“Rewarded for not performing” – Look at what he achieved up and until the contract.
“Shoehorning him into the team thus affecting the balance and potential of the team” – Up and until Ozil arrived, we had not won a trophy in over ten years, so what potential, from what was described as dross, mentally frail players left by AW, are we talking about, that a world cup winner couldn’t improve on (as he did of course)?
“Constant niggling injuries never seems fully fit” – Go back and you will see that he played more games in the 15/16 season than ever.
“Bringing politics into football” – can anyone tell me where politics were mentioned before he signed the new contract?
Then came these two statements… the first one bears no resemblance to what the article was actually intending to do and the second has no credibility, if one digests what is being said versus the facts outlined above and including the most significant point that Ozil was voted Player of the Year just four/five months previously by our fanbase.
“Before his fanbase lays into me, this is not an Ozil bashing article, I am just using him as an example”…later in a reply “Ozil had also done nothing to earn a new contract and whopping pay raise – no hindsight was needed.”
I suggest that what was needed, was a check back to see the facts above. I absolutely agree on the £350,000 reported increase of course.
So, both seem most incredible statements to make, when firstly, everything that Ozil achieved before his negotiations started are set out for all to see – yet it is alleged he did nothing to earn a new contract???
I would love to know another player with those credentials and stats who wasn’t offered a new contract, can anyone give a name or two??
Secondly, the “this is not an Ozil bashing article” quote – well I can say, without any fear whatsoever, this is an Ozil defending article, dealing only with his time from the 13/14 season, to his new contract on the 1st February 2018 and the utterly misleading representation of his time at the club up until then.
Now I will also add a footnote, this is all about whether Ozil had done enough to be offered a new contract – nothing to do with his obscene and grotesques salary – and it is all about the period from the 13/14 season up and until he was awarded the new contract in 2018. nothing more and nothing less.
We all have our opinions on different players, coaches, owners and even other fans, but when the facts are ignored in order to vilify a current or ex player of our club, we should at least be aware of those facts when making a judgement.
There are other points within the said article that I certainly agreed with and said so, also stating that I enjoyed the read itself, so it is not having a shot at the article, or the author, as a whole.
It is ensuring that the facts, up and until the new contract was signed, gives a real perspective of what Mesut Ozil had achieved for the club and why he most certainly deserved a new contract at that time.
I am of the opinion now that Mesut will depart the club when his contract runs out and that, for whatever reason, Mikel Arteta does not see him in his long-term plans, so be it.
In hindsight and whatever comes to pass, the reported £350,000 a week award was the most ridiculous thing our football club have ever done financially, but at the time, the “vast majority” of fans wanted Ozil to sign, whatever the cost…it doesn’t need hindsight to remember what was being said, just go back and check the facts!!!!
ken1945