Mesut Ozil may have earned a massive contract extension from Arsenal in January which saw him far and away our highest paid player, but ever since then he has (apparently) been plagued by undiagnosed injuries and has been criticised roundly by fans and pundits alike.
It was even worse for him when he rejoined Germany to defend their World Champions title and was dropped by Joachim Low for their second game after being blamed for the defeat to Mexico. And it was even worse when he returned for the defeat by South Korea which saw them eliminated at the bottom of the Group.
Ozil took the brunt again and was then racially slurred by German fans after the loss, despite many loyal years as their preferred Number 10. He has had that shirt for many many years, but has never worn it at Arsenal, but with Jack Wilshere’s departure he has finally been given his preferred jersey. Mesut said: “It has never been a secret how special this number is to me. My childhood idol Zinedine Zidane wore this number and it is still the most characteristic one for the playmaker position. I’m looking forward to putting it on for the first time at Arsenal after the summer break!”
But will it really make much difference? Him wearing Number 10 for Germany didn’t do them much good in Russia!
Darren N