So it would appear that the unanimous pay cut we thought the players and execs had taken didn’t come to fruition. There were 3 players that decided they wanted to sit it out. I actually speculated in the first draft of my post yesterday who that would be but I decided to take it out because it was unfairly speculative and maybe a touch inflammatory (soft, I know).
Two hours later, John Cross ran with the story that it was in fact Mesut Ozil.
Does it matter?
Yes it does. Anyone who thinks it’s not important doesn’t understand human dynamics and what goes into creating a unified culture in an organization that is striving for high-performance. Imagine how you’d feel if the highest-paid person in your company passed on a pay cut everyone else agreed to? It’d be scandalous. Imagine managing a group of young footballers and having to normalise that sort of behavior? It’d be tough. It’d feel like an assault on your authority, even though it’s more of an indictment on the individual.
The German is our most expensive player. He’s one of the most influential players in the world. He turned his back on the club and his team mates. One of our 5 captains didn’t want to put club before personal profit.
‘He pays taxes’ > so do the other 21 players.
‘He does things for charity’ > as do most players.
It’s not cool. It sends a terrible message to the younger players and it’ll leave a bad taste in the mouths of fans who have likely had financial hardship forced upon them.
Fans are waiting for his side of the story. It’s clear what that will be. He’s in the last year of his deal, in his early thirties, and his star has faded badly. The whole world knows Arsenal has been trying to move him on for 2 years. He was poorly treated by Unai Emery. He has very little reason to be loyal to leadership at Arsenal. However, I did hope he might take the moral high-ground on this one. Foolish, I know.
There are 2 other players that also refused. Interesting that the leaker of this story didn’t expose them. Seems like the dark arts of Arsenal PR were at play here, no doubt praying this pressures Mikel to stop loving on him so badly, and maybe spark fan pressure for him to go. I suspect the other two are likely players who have deals that would normally be expiring right about now.
I also think it’s a bit disappointing to read so many fans side with the players in this situation. Weird to saddle-up with millionaire footballers as you watch players all around Europe and in America volunteer much bigger chunks of their pay-cheques. So-called fans waiting to see if this is a huge profit scam haven’t been paying attention to 1) how much we lost last season 2) what happens to companies that suddenly lose the ability to operate.
Still, we can’t focus on the players not willing to do their bit for the club or moan about dim fans. The exec team landed a voluntary sacrifice from the players, they themselves gave up 33%, and the management team also did their bit. We shouldn’t let anyone dampen the initial positivity here. 21 players did their bit, that’s a huge chunk of commitment from a squad of players in disarray only 5 months ago. Where do you think we’d be with Emery running the negotiation? He’d still be explaining it.
The bigger worry for Arsenal fans is whether Bukayo Saka signs a new deal. His £7k a week deal is looking pretty shoddy right now. I don’t mind losing big-name players this summer, it really doesn’t bother me who goes, but I’d be desperately upset to lose a teenager of his pedigree. That’s an essential signing.
The Arsenal Thomas Partey links seemed fanciful to begin with, now Spanish press are reporting that Atleti are going to double his salary to £130k a week to fend off our interest. I guess that’d be us out the mixer. Still, I like that we’re being linked with a player like him, he’s exactly the sort of athlete we need in our midfield. Anyone coming from the University of Don Simeone is going to fit with the system Arteta wants to play. Let’s hope Cagigao has something a little more creative up his sleeve.
Right, short post today, see you in the comments. x
Morning
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3
Tr4phy
I expected better from Ozil. That is hugely disappointing.
Arsenal need Saka , we don’t need Ozil and haven’t needed him for years , the sooner he departs the better
Saka should be arsenals top priority football wise , without any doubt .
Very valid points, but going to reserve judgement on Ozil for now, might, or might not be more to come
I can honestly see a situation arising where Stan might sell, if so, we are in the dilemma of who he sells to, some dodgy geezers out there who might want to buy us
I am not Ozil’s biggest fan but who are the two other players? Without too much guess work, I’d say it’s Auba and possibly Lacazette. No one wants to give up money and footballers are some of the vilest and greediest SOB’s on the planet so why on earth has this come as a surprise?
It’s unfair that Ozil is picked out again for being a douche. Perhaps the other two bastards should pop their head up over the parapet and take the shit. Cowards.
So Stans not a dodgy geezer!
We need an owner who is a fan of ours and understands football.
He won’t sell he doesn’t need to
Ozil should be dumped, write it off.
Ozil is a complete scumbag, and an absolute disaster of a signing.
When we signed him, I thought it was a game changer.
Then when we played Bayern, he started on fire, we won a pen and he tamely missed it. He then went missing for the rest of the game.
Thats when I realised he was going to be a disaster of a signing.
He plays the game like a sick old lady who had just had her Chemo session.
Disgraceful player and disgraceful human being.
Yesterday, the other two were reported in the papers to be Xhaka and Mustafi.
Makes sense. Three problem players in the past.
But any update on that report?
Ozil is a rat. 350 k a week and he wouldn’t drop it, shameless fucker only dropped after pressure…. Stan then has a nerve to lend us our own money with a 17% interest rate added on WTF.THIS FUCKIN CLUB IS A SHAMBLES.
Can the club just put him on furlough and pay the £2.5k a month themselves?
Guvnor
“””””Does it matter?
Yes it does. Anyone who thinks it’s not important doesn’t understand human dynamics and what goes into creating a unified culture in an organization that is striving for high-performance.””””””
Exquisite.
I know a famous manger who knew this exactly.
All the great ones do.
ps. maybe the Dopes should have tied Saha’s contract up first before they went for universal wage cuts?
Firstly is anyone surprised it’s Ozil?
Secondly is anyone surprised that both Pierre and CG were defending him for doing it on the previous post?
Thirdly if it is true that the other two players are Xhaka and Mustafi I think Pedro needs to man up and apologise for defending the pair of them and their reintroduction into the team. We could have sold Xhaka in January for £21 million – we could now see his value drop if this is widely publicised and clubs shy away from signing players who have acted like this.
Just checked to see how Pedro twists this to absolve Arteta of any blame and he played it brilliantly. Three players he stuck with and played every game since he came in refusing to take pay cuts like the rest? This would have been the end of Emery on here for Pedro… Lol He even found a way to name drop Emery twice… Top top writing By the way no one should be forced to agree to something he or she doesn’t necessarily believe helps the bottom line. I am sure the players who refused have their reasons. Stan should… Read more »
Saha is a French footballer who retired best part of a decade ago, Saka is a young player on Arsenal’s books and you have the nerves to refer to others as dopes.
Receding
How’s the family – especially the new addition?
Don’t think that it’s unfair on Ozil at all. He made the decision and deserves everything he gets as a result. Maybe if he sacked a few of his personal PR team he could afford the pay cut? Hope this finally does for his Arsenal career, he will not be missed (except by a certain few who will have to find another obsession to follow Mesut and Wenger).
Marc we are doing great thanks for asking. She screams her head off when awake then sleeps to regain energy for more screaming.
How are you and yours, hope you are finding ways to keep the spirits up in these trying times
Receding
I’m an unsociable bastard at the best of times so this isn’t much of a change for me!
Seriously though so far so good if you can ignore the lack of football and F1 – the biggest fear is where the economy will be if we can’t start to get things underway again in the near future.
Smudger
“””””I can honestly see a situation arising where Stan might sell, if so, we are in the dilemma of who he sells to, some dodgy geezers out there who might want to buy us”””””””
I agree. Tacitly the club is up for sale.
A Wenger led consortium is still in the offering…….maybe to coincide with his book launch?
Can’t divulge more details at this precise moment…..
The three stooges not accepting pay cuts and these three have been hurting the club performance wise on the pitch for so long. Why don’t they just fuck off. As for it mattering of course it will matter. Fans the majority of them will be very adverse to this. How significant is it that Arsenal were the first EPL club to cut players wages en masse? Is it because we have a miser owner and as a club as a whole count every bean? Oh and Jack Grealish is a tit. Intelligence of a domesticated turkey. And people were yearning… Read more »
Ozil needs to clarify why he’s refused, he needs to leak something to a friend in the press because right now it does look very bad and simply unjust. Mustafi and Xhaka with Ozil complete the trio of players we as fans for the majority of their arsenal careers have not wanted at the club so maybe this is just a bit of spite from them for the lack of love/support. On Saka – I said a few times Saka not being tied down worries me, now we are entering a period in football where big transfers won’t happen for… Read more »
Pierre 10.31
What has Ozil got to do with Wenger on this matter.?
The only thing Wenger has to do with Ozil(past) is to talk
him into re signing on a salary that has burdened us for years and continues..
You really need to get your head round Wenger and his pampering and the
cost he lumbered the club with.
Why would Ozil take a pay cut you moan about him 24/7 he did this he did that sack him he is shit it is his fault we lost he is past it he is a greedy bastard running down his contract it goes on and on and on
So why in the world would he do something that you guys would moan about anyway in the end it is all you negative fucks that have caused this so shut up and suck it up back him a little and he would have backed you get what you sow.
Said before saka won’t hang around…
We are qpr to sterling’s arsenal…
He’s off,
Fact.
Ozil 184 appearances Premier league
100 Wins
45 Draws
39 losses
That is not a bad return but still not good enough for all the haters you will find something to moan about
Pedro
It’s not exactly secret that Ozil wasn’t going to agree to anything that’s now a deferral.His silly agent came out publicly to say this one month ago. This just reinforces my beliefs about Ozil.
One year to go on his contract and he can f*ck of f and take Pierre with along with him.
Any player that shows dissent and not wanting to be part of the club in difficult times should be transferred out of the club.
Trouble is Arteta and Edu hav’nt got the guts to do it.
Receding
Happy to know you’re now fully sleep deprived and smothered with that new baby smell.
I don’t think Stan should put a single penny towards paying players their full wages when there’s no work production. If he puts money into Arsenal now, it has to be for better things.
Had Ozil been an executive in one of Stan’s companies, he would have had a wage reduction or worse still been furloughed. That’s how it works in the real world.
“Imagine how you’d feel if the highest-paid person in your company passed on a pay cut everyone else agreed to? It’d be scandalous.”
This happens every day. Ever have a real job?
Marc
Had Xhaka agreed to move to Hertha Berlin, he would have had a wage reduction by now =, that’s. The community standard in the Bundesliga.
At Arsenal, he wants to wait and see.
Is he that insulated from the wider world that’s he’s missing the economic devastation that is obvious. Some of our commercial,sponsors won’t be able to meet their obligations on the contract. Emirates airline may be one of those that may default.
“A Wenger led consortium is still in the offering…….maybe to coincide with his book launch?”
Good grief
Dissenter
Xhaka’s lack of self awareness is what caused the fall out in the first place and he was club captain for fucks sake.
The club should’ve taken Arteta to one side and told him Xhaka’s gone – spend the money now or save it until the summer – it’s your choice but the waste of space is out of here.
I wonder is Saka took a pay cut on his £7k weekly wages?
Same as Martinelli
Stan in a multi billionaire.
I am sure he can replace the weekly shortfall of Ozil’s £43, 750 now not coming into the club. ( and two other players)
If he didn’t like Ozil’s contract – he should not have sanctioned it.
He is only the owner after all.
Another example of his absenteeism at the club and the consequences of it.
these scenarios DO NOT happen at other clubs!
Why would anyone be interested in Wenger’s wafflings in his supposed upcoming book?
He was lying through his back teeth for so long at Arsenal in his second last period that anything in his book will likely be of the same ilk.
Lies or if not that senility.
We are just a couple of players short of challenging for the title Wenger said on his leaving the club. Errr ok Arsene. Sure thing.
We are so interested in your further golden nuggets to come in your book. Not.
I mean if Ronaldo and Messi can agree to wage cuts to help their teams, what excuse does Ozil have
The manager took a wage cut, so did the executives.
There’s a lot of wasteland head for premier league clubs. It’s better to get in front of it than to just do the ostrich and hope it will blow over when the season is miraculous finished by June.
CG
Stan is a multibillionaire ….sure
You don’t think he too has lost a big chunk of his financial worthiness in this pandemic.
Football and other sports, like hotels, casinos and everything else in the hospitality industry is all but shit down.Do you think Stan is making good money right now?
You’re asking him to defy the laws of gravity by enriching a multi-millionaire who’s not producing anything ….while he’s losing money?
I really want to read that Wenger book.
The voyeur in me wishes I could just take a peek into the manuscript.
What certain people are missing is that the players taking a wage deduction / deferral is not only about saving the club some money – as important if not more so is the players at least attempting to show some solidarity with the fans who are struggling through the current situation.
It’s a bit of good will that fans will appreciate – even if there’s not much the average player and fan have in common.
Dissenter “””Stan is a multi billionaire ….sure You don’t think he too has lost a big chunk of his financial worthiness in this pandemic.””” (off course ) But…. Ozil is a multi millionaire……..you don’ think he too has lost a big chunk of his financial worthiness in this pandemic too? or is it one rule for one and not the other? until we see Stan provide CLEAR evidence of putting money into the club propping it up- why should Ozil take a cut? Time for Stan to step up to the plate! If he does that- I will then castigate… Read more »
CG
Are you that dense
How can Ozil lose much from the pandemic is when he’s still getting his full wages?
Are you referring to endorsements because there’s no indication that his sponsors are dithering.
You’re asking the owner to shoulder ALL the burden. The club has made it clear the priority will be to pay the non-playing staff their salaries. That’s good enough for me. Everyone else needs to get a hair trim for a few months. Of its good enough for Messi and Ronaldo, it shouldn’t be a problem for Ozil.
Cue the Ozil stories where he feeds millions in some backwater… or pays for some life giving surgery for kids in some war torn country… to show how of an amazing human he is. As commendable as these gestures are, it is highly toxic to have a player who is unwilling to row in the same direction as the rest of the team. He needs to go. He is letting his club and teammates down with such a selfish attitude. He earns 350k a week and and has done for the past few years. If he can’t absorb a 12.5%… Read more »
Some perspective
So far the total deaths represent 0.25% of the population.
Economic decline will affect everyone.
Football is way off the agenda, meanwhile we are exporting PPE to European countries.
Madness
Back on this blog after 5 years… Wasn’t there also a Geoff?
Leeds has that spot on – we’ll suddenly see a picture of Ozil weeping of the picture of some orphan that’s he’s donated money to save the village of or something.
dave
What’s really getting me at the moment are the constant cries of “life will never be the same again”.
For fucks sake.
GC
Who authorised Ozils latest contract?
Dis
“”””You’re asking the owner to shoulder ALL the burden.”””””””
Not All.
Some. No sign of it he has in his 10 years so far.
(if he can turn down two billion from Usmanov – he can’t be short of a bob or two!)
time for Stan to step up or step out!
Marc
Yep the press love scaremongering to get hits, the government to week and dithering, no leadership.
The brainwashing will take time to go away, but the longer we go on like this, the longer it will take to get back to normal.
My son who lives in Munich is back to work, and he’s in the media business.
Protest will be next, people have had enough.
NEEG
“”””Who authorised Ozils latest contract?”””””
Gazidas and green lit by Raul!
(Wenger always adhered to a socialist wages model.)
100% Fact.
Ozil contract signed in Jan, Sanllehi joined mid Feb but he’s still somehow responsible for a contract signed before he even joined.
Arsenal won’t progress until players like Ozil and all the fans who are quick to support everything he does are no longer associated with the Club. Unbelievable that there are fans still defending his action, when its a disgrace.
Looks like Gazidas was the problem here.
I wonder how many times Wenger took the flak for failed signings and players leaving.
obviously this is not what the wenger obsessives want to hear ( the truth) .
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://talksport.com/football/588839/robin-van-persie-arsenal-manchester-united/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwjik5Luv_noAhXGQxUIHR-vD0IQFjABegQICRAB&usg=AOvVaw3iQZdmk1l5y_uUwhbBBrRk&cf=1
Pierre
“”””I wonder how many times Wenger took the flak for failed signings and players leaving.
obviously this is not what the wenger obsessives want to hear ( the truth) .”””””
They detest The Truth!
Book out October.
Will AFC be in administration by then?
#Bestseller#
GC
Amazing GC – your knowledge of all things AFC. Raul actually joined after Ozil signed his latest contract and IG would not authorise the contract unless another party put their name to it – I wonder who that was?
@NEEG
“Amazing GC – your knowledge of all things AFC. Raul actually joined after Ozil signed his latest contract and IG would not authorise the contract unless another party put their name to it – I wonder who that was”
CG and Pierre are two 70+ yrs old troll
Neeg “Amazing GC – your knowledge of all things AFC. Raul actually joined after Ozil signed his latest contract and IG would not authorise the contract unless another party put their name to it – I wonder who that was?” He did join after Ozil signed the contract but it was common knowledge in October 2017 that Raul was joining Arsenal. It would be foolish to think that Raul had no input into the Ozil contract. To think that even though he knew he was joining Arsenal, he would turn a blind eye to contract negotiations with Ozil , doesn’t… Read more »
Ozil knows nobody even if there were insane would give him another contract so he’s going to milk the club for every penny he can get.
I’ve not been on here for a while. Maybe over a month, but I come back in to have a little read and it could be any post or subject from the past 5 years because it’s just Pierre and CG banging on about wenger still.
For yet another poor season they owe us a lot more hen 12,5 percent they should have half lost 50 percent not 12,50 the debacle in Baku alone is 25 percent in my mind,overpampered champagne charlies.Howabout showing i little pride in the jersey and the fans then the latest Lambo.
Danny s
“I’ve not been on here for a while. Maybe over a month”
Nobody noticed !
Pierre
Meh. I care very little if they did or didn’t.
You do need to let go though Pierre. Let it go.
Pierre, in total agreement there. It was announced Raul was joining in November… no way Ivan didn’t ask his new football man about that deal.
I can’t stand Ozil the player, but if I had the choice between taking a 15% pay cut to help out a guy worth 10 billion? Or giving 15% of my wages to a children’s charity? I’d take the children’s charity….
“”””Pierre, in total agreement there. It was announced Raul was joining in November… no way Ivan didn’t ask his new football man about that deal.”””””
100% accurate.
Raul signed off on the Ozil contract.
No doubt about it.
Since when has our Wenger ever given out a contract like that to any player in his 35 years of management?
One example will suffice
AW always adhered to a strict wage disciplined policy.
(One of the reasons he was so successful and lasted so long.)
CG
Unless he was in a corner – and then his so called policy is out of the window.
It’s mad
So far this winter 32,000 people have died with flue and pneumonia.
Only 10,000 deaths are directly attributed to Coronavirus on death certicates.
If it wasn’t for this panic would we be closing the country down to prevent flu spreading?
No
Let’s get footy back , maybe with our Ozil and Xhaka.
Sorry,without Ozil and Xhaka
Dam spellcheck you can tell it’s American based.
Considering Wenger was much more on his socialist wage policy in his second period at the club with less success than in his first period it doesn’t add up to champion him for stringent across the board player contracts.
As for giving out big deals to players no-one would care if Ozil was a top player and producing as such. But he isn’t a top player.
So many errors of judgements from this club over a good many years including when Wenger was firmly in the helm.
Barcelona are to give a sponsor naming rights to the Nou Camp for the first time and donate all the revenue to fighting coronavirus.
Some clubs get the public sentiment very well.
Pedro You think Gazidis will share decision making or even corporate secrets with a soon-to-be employee? It doesn’t work that way. You aren’t fully a member of staff until you walk into that building and go through the HR protocol. Raul would have been busy trying to situate himself and family to London. He would have stayed away deliberately. You deal with what you are given n day one. If I interviewed a candidate for a position, offered the position and we agreed a starting day. It would be grounds of revoking the contract offer if that soon-to-be employee starts… Read more »
Ozil AGAIN showing that he won’t be pressured into doing something he is not in agreement with. …good for him.It’s that strength of character that enabled him to reach the pinnacle of his profession.
—————
Great to see Pierre manage to see this whole thing for what it’s really about – Ozil’s superior character strength.
Dis
We are talking soccer here.
the biggest bullshit industry in the world.
Anyone can do Rauls job.
And probably much better too
Singling our Ozil when 2 others also pushed back on a pay cut suggests dark arts at work. Shaming him into doing the right thing is pointless. I sure hope the £43750 per week he is refusing to forego is worth it. I guess he just really needs another £200k watch for his collection. By my crude calculations he is unwilling to give up the equivalent of 76 times the average full time UK wage, if he had done he would still be earning 600 times the average wage is, staggering. Some people just don’t have any concept of the… Read more »
Tom
It’s strange to read anyone praising Ozil for his “strength of character”
You wonder why he never stood up to Erdogan all the while he was slamming China;s treatment of Uighurs moslems.
You wonder why he’s the first to walk away when younger team mates are being man-handled by the opposition.
Ozil has his strengths no doubt, not sure strengths of character is one I would put in his corner.
” no way Ivan didn’t ask his new football man about that deal.”
Yeah I’m going to show my new employee I’m so weak that I need his permission to do something before he even joins the club.
Get a grip Pedro – you don’t like Sanllehi we get it, aliening yourself with 2 posters who were praising Ozil for not taking the deal on the previous post just makes you look a dickhead.
If I interviewed a candidate for a position, offered the position and we agreed a starting day. It would be grounds of revoking the contract offer if that soon-to-be employee starts demanding to be heard before his start day. —————- Top tier managers want to have their say and input into players’ transfers often times before they actually take over the new club. I think, that’s how we got Ozil joining in 2013. Ancelotti , who was just appointed the new RM manager , decided he could do without Ozil’s superior character. I don’t think Raul would’ve had that type… Read more »
Pierre “Looks like Gazidas was the problem here. I wonder how many times Wenger took the flak for failed signings and players leaving.” You made yourself look fucking stupid the other day listing “horrific” ManU defeats under Fergie (all happened in a season ManU went on to win the league in!) to try and deflect from Wenger’s ineptitude don’t add to that with the above. We all know we missed out on lots of players because Wenger wouldn’t sanction the required fee – to try and switch that to Gazidis and use the Ozil contract is laughable. Gazidis paying out… Read more »
Marc
“We all know we missed out on lots of players because Wenger wouldn’t sanction the required fee –”
Do you mean like we all knew that RVP leaving was down to Wenger….
As has been said before no big club wanted Ozil.
So he got the best deal for himself staying at Arsenal with his “star player” new contract. The “star player” that no big club was interested in signing.
And we all know now it was a poor deal for Arsenal.
Tom
Ozil was certainly a last minute signing. By all accounts it was a very interesting few hours leading up to deadline – nobody could get hold of Wenger – his phone was switched off.
Pierre Hazard & Ronaldo are the two biggest that spring to mind – I’m sure we’ll get the book serialised somewhere with a list of Wenger’s “I almost signed”. It’s no coincidence that this regular “missing out” on players started after Dein left and Wenger got involved in what the fee’s involved would be. We can’t you appreciate Wenger for what he did early on, appreciate him getting us through the stadium move and understand that after that he went a bit senile and lost the plot? I notice you failed to reply on or mention the ManU “horrific” results… Read more »
NEEG
I’m not saying Ozil was a bad signing.
By all accounts Wenger worked hard to get the deal done and took advantage of the situation that presented itself to him( Bale transfer).
Like Dissenter said upthread , Ozil represents many good and great things but strength of character is probably not one of them.
Ozil was a good signing (at first) he provided Sanchez with what he needed – lots of service. Like most of Wengers teams since 2004 there were vital parts missing. This led to star players being disenchanted and a breakdown of manager / player relationships.
NEEG
Agreed it’s almost as if he would part bake the perfect cake and then refuse to put icing on the fucking thing!
Ishola
Why do you think Arsenal offered Ozil such a massive contract if no other club were in for him.
One would imagine that Ozil would have been desperate to sign for Arsenal due to the supposed lack of interest in him and he would have taken a fraction of that amount.
For Arsenal ( gazidis and Raul) to offer Ozil such a lucrative contract if there was no outside interest in him was either the height of stupidity or there was interest in him from other clubs .
I will leave you to decide which is the more likely.
With Wenger we get Sanchez from Barca.
No Wenger we get Suarez ( Dennis) from Barca.
With Wenger we get Ozil from Real Madrid.
No Wenger we get Cebollas from Real Madrid.
That’s the difference.
t.h
Pierre
It was not Ozil who was desperate – Ozil’s agent milked the situation.
Since it was all praises for Arteta when players agreed to the half arsed deal, how about for the players that have not agreed? It clear this team lacks leadership, no one would attempt this type of crap at Barca, Roma, the bundesliga the deal itself is mediocre(tro4phy) in philanthropic standards. Cant believe a few days ago ozil was among 2 other described as “having their fortunes turned”. Its been clear its their attitude more than footballing skill thats the biggest problem to the team. If Saka doesnt sigh it will be the straw that broke the camels back Im… Read more »
CG
I just have two questions for you re Wenger’s book: one, how many copies will you buy to make sure it makes the bestseller list? And two, how many times a day will you post quotes from it on legrove?
Pedro’s gonna have a decision to make there for sure lol.
Marc “It’s no coincidence that this regular “missing out” on players started after Dein left and Wenger got involved in what the fee’s involved would be.” Dein didn’t have to compete with city and Chelsea who would have blown Arsenal out of the water any time we tried to compete for the same player, so he did have it easier. Would have been interesting to see how Dein would have got on having to sign players whilst paying back the loans for the new stadium, plus competing against city and Chelsea in the transfer market. Maybe Dein would still have… Read more »
Tom
I am waiting for the sequel which is to be titled ‘ How I almost signed……….’
The ghost writer has demanded extra funds to pay for researchers as the list is so long.
Neeg
It doesn’t answer the question as to why Ozil was offered such a lucrative contract if there was no other interest in him.
Surely Asenal would have been holding all the cards if there was no interest, it seems to me that Ozil or his agent were holding all the cards so there must have been interest, and no Gazidis and Raul wouldn’t be that stupid to believe Ozil’s agent that there was interest if there was in fact no interest……would they
Pierre
We have seen the story too many times before if a “star player” is wanted from Arsenal from a big club.
They leave. They cite ambition from a playing perspective and of course they get a better financial deal as well along with it.
That you think Ozil is an exception to this all too familiar trend is kind of sweet but also predictable from you.
Pierre It’s just an educated guess on my part but Ozil’s agent took advantage of circumstances surrounding the situation Arsenal found themselves in. Ox took a pay cut to join Liverpool against Wenger’s wishes in the summer of 2017. In the following months it became clear Sanchez wasn’t going to extend , again, against Wenger’s wishes, and it was either Arsenal sell him in January or lose him on a free in May 2018. Loosing Ox, Sanchez, and Ozil within 6 months of each other would’ve been a PR disaster from the clubs stand point, or so they thought. So… Read more »
Ishola
Are you admitting there was interest?..looks like it.
If so , then we are in agreement .
Pierre you must remember what is a “lucrative” deal for Arsenal is not such a staggering thought or action for say a Manchester United.
Ozil stayed at Arsenal along with his “lucrative” deal because no big club waded in for him.
The big club would have bettered the Arsenal deal if they really wanted to sign him.