Come on, the headline was fun. I’m just messing around with people. If you want to dedicate your online life to a footballer and you are over the age of 12, that’s totally cool, just accept the banter that comes your way, BECAUSE IT IS WEIRD.
David Ornstein dropped the EXCLUSIVE on Mesut agreeing to terminate his deal with Arsenal. The German is now free to choose which club he heads to next. It’s the clear the player is done with the rigours of modern football and it seems very likely he’s going to take a beach holiday to Fenerbache. Good for him.
Ultimately, re-signing Mesut was the biggest mistake of the Wenger/Gazidas era. The deal was made because Arsene didn’t know what he was doing and Ivan G had an attack of ego and wasn’t prepared to let another star player leave for fuck all after swapping Sanchez for Mikhi.
We have paid the price ever since. Back in the day, we used to keep places free in the squad for players that were always injured (Vermaelen/Diaby/Jack/Robin), the last 4 years have been keeping spaces free in the squad in the naive hope Mesut would find his mojo. He didn’t. His MO, in the end, was about stiffing Arsenal for his own flaws. The whole debacle greatly hamstrung our abilities to effectively build a squad, which wasn’t helped by our unbelievable negligence with the money we did have.
Well, it’s over now. Mikel Arteta was the manager that finally managed to convince the player to leave.
The whole thing is bittersweet. I remember the excitement of him landing on deadline day. I remember speaking with Alex from the podcast. He thought we’d finally landed as a club, I think he may have been the most excited fan on the planet, he may have started Oziltology, no one can be sure. No one could quite believe we’d made the move.
I mean, I literally couldn’t believe the gaps and problems we had in the squad and Wenger answered them with Mesut. We needed to strengthen our midfield with someone like Thomas Partey (or Kante) and there were serious question marks over the quality of our strikers. Our summer started in shambles when we famously tried to activate the Suarez release clause with a £40,000,001 bid, we were told to fuck off (Barca bought him for £64m a season later). We nearly signed Higuain for £23m, but baulked when Madrid asked for another chunk of change, we said no (the player moved to Napoli, then to Juve for £75m a season later). Both players may have shaped our future in a more positive way, and they certainly would have had resale value.
Anyway…
Wenger added creativity to a midfield that had Wilshere, Chamberlain, Cazorla, Diaby, and Rosicky… literally the most Wenger move of all time.
Still, it was hard to argue with early Mesut. The guy was a chance machine. He was special. He helped us break our trophy drought. Things really perked up when he had Alexis Sanchez to play with. Mesut’s creativity combined with the dogged style of Sanchez kept us looking very exciting as an attacking unit.
Things turned sour though. It was clear he was a continuation of our approach to signing players that added flab to our soft underbelly. He would go missing, no doubt. I don’t think he ever recovered after his shocking World Cup and the bad press he thought he didn’t deserve after making besties with a brutal dictator. Germany turned on him, there were certainly undertones of racism, being referred to as ‘Turkish’ in their media was a disgraceful way to treat an icon of immigrant integration. He was never the same after that rejection.
The player just wasn’t interested in Arsenal. Arsene Wenger wrapped him in cotton wool. The player didn’t travel with the squad to difficult away games. According to plenty of people in the know, the player would pick up ‘injuries’ and would cry off with sickness on the regular. He thought his profile was bigger than the club, and he believed he could play by different rules.
He became toxic at about the same time his skillset started to look antiquated. Pep G reinvented creativity in a possession-based system, KDB redefining what influence looked as a chief creator. Jurgen Klopp, on the other side of the fence, eliminated the need of that sort of luxury player with his power and pace model. The Ozil’s of the world found themselves out of fashion, so what did we do during this cultural transformation? We opened the cheque book and trebled his compensation to £350k a week. This wasn’t Mesut at the peak of his powers either, fans were onto him already, no one was calling for that sort of deal, and more importantly, no one club in world football had an offer for him at that level, even on a free transfer.
Well, Wenger’s career careened off a cliff after this. Emery binned him, then brought him back and paid the price by losing the camp for being a wet lettuce. Freddie dropped him. Arteta brought him back in from the cold, then the player started his old tricks again and he had enough, exiting him from the squad in humiliating fashion. Now, I’m not sure I’d have done that because ultimately, Arsenal FC has paid a huge price this season for not having a creative player like Ozil in the side. But it’s done now. He’s gone. Arsenal can start again.
We do have to make some things clear here.
There is simply no way that Mesut Ozil is losing out financially here. The cult is trying to spin a story that Ozil, after 4 years of playing like a bum, is somehow doing this for football reasons and the good of Arsenal. No chance. He’ll have cut a deal that means all the money he’s losing with Fener over the next 5 months is supplemented by Arsenal.
The player was binned for footballing reasons. His comments on the Uighur Muslims were fair and just. Arsenal isn’t a political body. We didn’t drop him for hanging with a human rights abuser and we didn’t drop him for making the righteous case for human rights in China.
It was the football. If you couldn’t see it in his performances, that’s on you. If you look at the evidence of 4 coaches on the bounce, and you still can’t see it, maybe you don’t want to? If you can’t see it by looking where he’s ended up at 32 years of age, again, I can’t help you. But know this… he’s leaving because of footballing reasons and there is no one at Arsenal that will be sad to see him go (outside his mates).
Now the question focuses on what we do next? I suspect we’ll go for a loan. I’m not sure there’s a lot of value in the market right now, and losing Ozil money doesn’t really solve the fact we have very little cash to play with. It’s not a good look to borrow money from a covid relief fund, then drop £40m on a player. In fact, that’s an awful look. It was shocking we moved on Willian after making 50+ people redundant in the summer, I can’t imagine we’ll be making another PR error like that any time soon.
The most important signing is a back-up goalkeeper. If we lose Leno, we will sink in the table. If something exciting comes up for a loan, we should do it. But I think the focus should continue to be about moving players on. The squad is bloated beyond belief. We should sell players that aren’t going to play. We should do deals with players that are toxic. We should start lining up buyers for players that just aren’t good enough… like our record signing.
This summer should be focused on ageing down the squad and accepting reality… the only way back to the top is the hard way. That’s good coaching. Growing young players. Outsmarting the market. Having a disciplined approach to our vision (we should also, you know, formulate a vision).
Maybe that’s already started. We’ve hired Richard Garlic to replace Huss Fahmy. Richard spent 8 years at West Brom as a Director of Football Admin, which sounds about as unsexy a job title as they come. He then moved to the Premier League where he was a Director of Football.
What insight do I have into this guy? None.
He’s taking over as Director of Football Operations. That sounds mighty similar to what Raul was supposed to do, but according to Ornstein, the role is closer to what Huss Fahmy was supposed to be doing. What do we want from this job?
Actual rigour to the contracts process. The problems we’re dealing with at the moment, with a group of players with 6 months on their deals needs to stop happening. The two-year rule needs to be enforced. We have no discipline there.
Normalisation of financial compensation. Again, there is no rhyme or reason to how we pay players. We get this badly wrong time and time again and it costs us. Mesut Ozil was offered £350k a week in a market that likely wouldn’t have given him £200k a week. Willian told the world he wanted to stay in London, Chelsea offered £120k a week on 2 years, we offered a double your money deal and an extra year. That’s fucking stupid on so many levels. We need a process and a formula to pay that we stick to. We need paygrades, we need career plans for the kids, and we need someone with the gravitas to ensure we don’t make special cases that break the system.
Ethical leadership. I don’t want to see the extent of our scouting process being a phone call to Kia J. I don’t want to find out we took a punt on the second string keeper at 17th place Dijon who had the worst save percentage in the league because of a keeping coaches recommendation. All the deals that cross his table should have a business case attached to it. Players should sit in a particular age profile, they should have resale value, proposed wages should marry to reality, scouting reports should be extensive, and agents fees should be deeply examined. No more fuckery.
Can this guy deliver that? I have no idea. I find it odd that Arteta is talking about the man. He doesn’t know what is good for that role. I hope this isn’t another case of blind recruiting the blind, but we’ll see. Good luck Richard, I hope you’re better than what has gone before.
Ok, that’s me done, see you in the comments. x
1st
And
The
Tr4phy
Now to read the post….
Bye Mesut
Bye bye.
It’s such a ridiculous situation having players who aren’t registered to play training with the first team every day.
Bound to be toxic. I get that there are contractual obligations, etc., but still….
I hope this Garlick guy is worth his salt.
Mesut who?
Don’t know much about Garlic except that he surely wouldn’t sign another ‘keeper who’s scared of crosses…
But seriously, another lawyer/accountant type when we need people with real football experience in and around the Kroenkes. Typical Americans who see sport as just another business when it really isn’t.
Fantastic post.
I guess Arteta and Edu would feel threatened by another football man in a position of power.
In fairness it’s not just the football that needs to be improved at Arsenal.
Agree with parts of your take. We never used Ozil properly after the 1st 2 years since his arrival. We went for Xhaka instead of Kante & didn’t reinforce properly. Was Ozil the best player in the Germany squad that won the worldcup? Probably not but he shone because he had the right personal around him. Sure he didn’t do himself any favours but the club didn’t help either with each window never properly addressing the needs and enabling for too long players that should have been gone. Also not letting him know until the window shut this summer that… Read more »
Arteta lands and Ozil gets 10 games in a row. He reduses a paycut and is out of the squad after the lockdown for “footballing reasons”. The same team Willian made every week for footballing reasons. The same team where we thought there was space for 5 keepers but none for Ozil and Saliba in the Europe league. I’m not saying Ozil would have smashed it out the park, but he would have definitely been better than some of the dross performances we saw. Arteta knows his quality, he knows if he plays Ozil in the Europa league, he will… Read more »
Pedro on Ozil’s extension 3 years ago: “We tied our best player down to a mega money deal, moving away from the stupid regressive model of awarding our failing manager the biggest contract at the club. Ivan Gazidis brought in actual professionals attuned to the market, and he empowered them to make things happen. Let’s also not forget that Dick Law has still been on the scene. The key here? No Wenger involvement.” 3 years later: “The deal was made because Arsene didn’t know what he was doing and Ivan G had an attack of ego and wasn’t prepared to… Read more »
Best Ozil moments?
Just roll with it.
Goal vs Napoli and the goals in the 3 -0 vs Man U and chelsea.
“Emery binned him, then brought him back and paid the price by losing the camp for being a wet lettuce.”
This makes no sense. I don’t think anyone believes Emery lost the team because of playing Ozil. That’s just more petty spitefulness.
“The player was binned for footballing reasons.”
Ditto.
His goal against Liverpool to put us 3-2 up, where we scored 3 goals in quick succession, that was great.
he was binned for financial reasons
“Mikel Arteta was the manager that finally managed to convince the player to leave.”
Er no…he left because he had an offer or offers that he could manipulate to save face.
For all our suspicions on the Brazilian’s DOF ability, one job we shouldn’t expect him to be doing is all the legal work required in players’ contracts. I would imagine Edu will still be involved in negotiating the major deals but the finer details will be all Richard Garlick. From what I have read, Garlick is qualified solicitor and has a sports law degree, he is meant to possess clout at the top level as well as having a track record having worked at West Brom and the Premier League. Raul Sanllehi was a very well-respected figure in the corridors… Read more »
He was binned for not taking a paycut.
Not China. Not football.
No Pedo post would be complete without an Emery dig. Pedro+Emery=Pierre+Ozil.
Can we never hear Ozils name mentioned on these pages again. Who is going to move the motion in the house of commons?
Poor Pierre. Has anyone been to check on him?
No Pedro post would be complete without an Emery dig. Pedro+Emery=Pierre+Ozil.
Can we never hear Ozils name mentioned on these pages again. Who is going to move the motion in the house of commons?
Poor Pierre. Has anyone been to check on him?
He was binned for not being very good. Four assists and two goals in the league over two seasons is rubbish for a player who offers little else. That and a poor attitude. He’s gone (it seems) so get over the schoolboy crush and support the players who are making the effort on the pitch now.
Global, Little P has two choices, tissues and a Fenerbahce shirt or tissues and an Eddie poster. I’m expecting it to be the latter with the occasional wistful references to what could have been…
Kris and Globalgunner – exactly
I am no fan of Emery but Pedros constant and inaccurate attacks on him are both pathetic and a failed attempt to cover up his own serial failures with hailing first Gazadis (who I must admit I have a soft spot for myself after he chatted to my young daughter on Arsenal.com when she was doing the Junior Gunner shadowing) and Arteta (who I don’t either as a player or a manager) as the future of the club.
It has ended for Ozil and us badly no matter how you look at it. Yeah he has got money but I am sure he wouldn’t have wanted to leave in such a way. We have spent badly after that too. Notably on pepe which we paid more than double. But we aren’t the only ones fucking up. Chelsea spent 70 mil + on Havertz who will be like Ozil. A silky player that can’t handle the premier league. They bought a goal keeper for world record fee that isn’t up to scratch. United have got better. City and Liverpool… Read more »
Liverpool were in our position 5 years ago. They signed Wijnaldum, Robertson and Mane below 35 mil till they got in and around top 4. After that they spent good money to push them to contend for the title. That is how we should do things. Accept where we are, pay for dependable players, utilize the youth and go back to the champions league and take it from there.
This. Couldn’t agree more.
Whoever signed Willian’s contract should be fired.
Liverpool finally made the grade by at last finding the right manager to take them to the summit. The question for Arsenal fans is who is Arteta on our own manager quest. Roy Hodgson or Brendan Rogers?
Pedro
Excellent post
The only exception is that odd comment that ” Mikel Arteta was the manager that finally managed to convince the player to leave”
That’s simply not true. Ozil chose to leave when it was convenient for him.
Nelson
“Whoever signed Willian’s contract should be fired.”
You want us to fire the technical director and the manager?
Or could he be Roy Evans?…….Surely not
Dissenter:……Err, yes.
Ozil was due a loyalty payment quite soon. 8m some say. maybe thats what we paid up that convinced him to leave. No way he is losing that AND 7m in salary
Global gunner I have my doubts about arteta too. But the recruitment should be clear. We can’t sign players that can only fit the manager. We should sign players that are dependable. Players that are committed and bring a lot to the team. We need more players like Kieran Tierney. Talented, good attitude and hungry to play. And that manager should coach the players we bring in. And if the manager can’t coach players like that, he can fuck off. Dortmund don’t change the way they do things because of every manager. They bring their managers good players and tell… Read more »
Not one Arsenal fan wanted Ozil to leave before his contract extension.
The 350k a week deal was a massive mistake from the club. Likes of Pogba and KDB were on 200-250k a week then and Ozil’s agents took advantage of the Sanchez debacle.
we need to start playing quick attacking football like man united
https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/comments/kyggwi/in_my_opinion_our_most_underrated_goal_from/
Anyone who was excited on Ozil’s arrival to Arsenal don’t know much about football.
Ozil would continue to be adored by an overwhelming majority of football fans across the globe. A truly gifted player.
Scott Parker is a decent manager.
Fulham may very well still go down but he has drilled them well enough to give them a fighting chance..
“He deserved his 350k, deserved his 20m loyalty bonus”
Man City extended David Silva in similar circumstances and raised his wages from £135 kpw to £220 kpw.
Silva’s numbers mirrored those of Ozil’s before his extension so it’s hard to see how Arsenal got any value from the new Ozil deal even if he kept up his performance levels, which he certainly hadn’t.
Arsenal regressed year on year with the signing of Ozil and ultimately led to the sacking of Wenger.
Whether or not you like or liked Özil, the club/Arteta have treated him disgracefully
Lies have been spread about his attitude and have been refuted by team-mates, including everyone’s hero, Martinez.
Talking rubbish about his footballing skills shows you all up for the idiots you are. He was a brilliant footballer.
Wishing Ozil the best in his future endeavors
The faults have to be spread out.Wenger never followed up the Ozil; signing by getting a decent defensive midfielder to cover for Ozil’s weakness
No need to get tetchy now that the [player is gone.
Captain Tierney “Not one Arsenal fan wanted Ozil to leave before his contract extension. The 350k a week deal was a massive mistake from the club. Likes of Pogba and KDB were on 200-250k a week then and Ozil’s agents took advantage of the Sanchez debacle” Ozil’s been on the slide since the second half of the 2015/16 season, plenty of fans were happy for us to sell Ozil, or allow him to leave on a Bosman in 2017/18 Same with Aubameyang, I think he’ll come out of his slump, but I wasn’t in the least bit bothered if we’d… Read more »
Just have to say that the Willian signing is on the same scale as Ozil’s 350k contract extension.
It’s not like we learned our lesson after the Ozil contract extension.
I would hold back the good riddance comments because we are still replicating the same errors.
A totally different management gave a 32 year old a 3 year contract when it was obvious he wanted to stay in London to manage his restaurant and get UK citizenship.
Imagine we got Ziyech instead of Willian
😫😣
Dissenters
The same board you ridicule over Willian also made an error of judgment when signing the present manager.
No team in the Premier league is special yet we find ourselves midtable, work that one out.
Valentin
Your fav Areola just teed up Mount for a Chelsea winner. And you think he is better than Leno.
Henry19
Don’t let Pedro read that you just slighted Arteta .
The power has never resided in the BoD. Arsenal his owned by a billionaire and the BoD is comprised of prim and proper octogenarians.
Power resided in Wenger when he was around and then Gazidis, Raul/Vinai, Vinai/Edu/Arteta after Wengexit. .
I wish people would stop acting like our BoD has the power to overrule any of the main characters.
We’re midtable and that’s down to one man the manager.
It’s the board who hire these clowns so it’s ultimately the boards fault.
Dissenter
Completely agree, the Willian 3yr deal goes beyond negligence
Particularly as we were investing such a huge sum in a 31yr Aubameyang
Was our plan for 2022/23 season having a 33yr old Aubameyang, and a 34yr old Willian as our forward options?
We’re desperate for a competent DOF to come in and sort this mess out.
Ozil was questionable from the start. The need was a striker not an effete passer of the ball. Wenger’s costliest ego-driven mistake.
On an incoming GK, someone who was great but past his peak seems likeliest, as happened with Cech. I think we’ll break the young and vigorous agenda here.
Kieran Tierney: ‘Héctor said to me “you’re good enough to play here. Believe in yourself”. That helped me so much. We sat down for an hour and spoke. I think that changed everything. I went home that night feeling much better about myself. I remember texting him saying thanks’.
Awwwwwwww full backs love 🤣
I think I read one post bemoaning the appointrment of Garlick because we didnt need a non-football person. I would go the other way and suggest that position was pretty close to a number one priority to stop us fucking up financially at almost every turn. Without doing the laborious sum, we probably spunked over £100 million in the last few years. A case inpoint, Partey may or may not be a great player, but did we need to [pay hiom £2000k. Wpould he have accepted £140k? I bet he would, And of course Willian…..
Pedro, You mentioned the redundancies. Now, I know you understand that a mature business going into a recession will take the opportunity to trash the dross, usually around 10% of the workforce who are shit, but not shit enough to fire. As a result that organisation comes out stronger. We all know that in law you make the position redundant, not the person. We also know that in reality, thats bollocks, You always trash the riff raff, then make subtle adjustments behind the scenes to fill the hole. Plesase stop mentioning the redundancies as some sort of crime against humanity,… Read more »
Jeanette kliger
“Whether or not you like or liked Özil, the club/Arteta have treated him disgracefully
Lies have been spread about his attitude and have been refuted by team-mates, including everyone’s hero, Martinez.
Talking rubbish about his footballing skills shows you all up for the idiots you are. He was a brilliant footballer.”
Well said…
The only question that needs to be asked is, are we a better football team with or without Ozil.
And as an Arsenal supporter , that’s all that matters, the rest is just bullshit…
Speaking of bullshit:
“Occasionally I will give Le Grove the benefit of my football wisdom .which many appreciate on here , but Ozil nah , he’s a waste of space and has been for years”
As you were.
Pierre
I agree, but how can we answer your question?
FYI, I have been supporting Arsenal for the past 63 years, so I am a true supporter.
I really hate it when Pierre Morgan takes up this unwanted and unofficial rope of club super media rep.
Can’t think of a more detestable media personality than Pierre Morgan. Why can’t we just part ways with Ozil in peace. Why does it have to be so personal?
He didn’t award himself that contract, did he?
*Piers Morgan
I hate Green Bay
100 percent agree on redundancies but …..
…. why Gunnersaurus
Completely seriously he was the only person at the club who actually did what he was paid to do – Unlike the owners, the Board, the Exec, The Manager, the scouts and the players.
Actually he and the Women’s Team
What frustrates me most about the Ozil signing was that the season before Cazor.la was probably the best midfielder in the league and I think scored around 12 league goals. He was then moved out of position to accommodate Ozil and even lost his place at one stage.
Ozil was a completely unnecessary signing and was indeed a vanity signing by Wenget.
Maddison tells his team mates to keep their distance after he scores and then he does a huge gob!
Dissenter He didn’t award himself the contract But he did down tools Pull questionable sickies His agent openly briefed against Emery + Arteta His social media activity was designed to cause internal division He threw his gloves around little a bratty 6yr old child He wasn’t not playing for his lack of talent, we’re crying out for a creative talent He’s not playing because his behaviour and application hasn’t been good enough From a senior professional who should be setting the example to younger players, that’s not acceptable Ozil is a disgrace, Emery worked him out in weeks, Arteta gave… Read more »
Lot more dead wood to drift away …so ain’t jumping 4 joy yet…
Great piece Pete. Man this club wastes soo much money. What happened to the supposed well run Arsenal that Ivan G used to scream about all over the place?? Need to start again from scratch
This club makes way too many decisions based on the fear of bad PR. Not selling Alexis to city for 60m? giving Ozil mega wages so that him and Alexis don’t leave on a free? Auba 375k per week @ 32? Walcott 100k a week contracts? Buying Laca cause fans wanted a ‘pacey’ forward> Giroud.
We are run extremely poorly. Club lacks proper leadership
Willian + Auba = even more ruinously high wages for some time to come. What we save on Ozil goes on those two. Duh.
Rspca I agree with you lots more needs to go
Great post though Pedro
Pierre hope you are coping with the loss of your favourite player of all time
Nice post up Pedro, lil trip down memory lane. I backed Ozil far too long before coming to the realisation I didn’t give a shit about Ozilmania any more.
Huge statement when he arrived remember going to Emirates seeing him for first time in red n white and the chant began… We got Mesut Ozil…. shame he never fulfilled the promise. Have to think had we nailed Suarez in that window Wenger goes out with one more title in the cabinet and that says everything.
@Edem ” The same team where we thought there was space for 5 keepers but none for Ozil and Saliba in the Europe league. I’m not saying Ozil would have smashed it out the park, but he would have definitely been better than some of the dross performances we saw. Arteta knows his quality, he knows if he plays Ozil in the Europa league, he will perform, and he couldn’t have that cos then he would have to answer for why he doesn’t play him in the league.” I’m no Ozil fan , but I think the points you made… Read more »
If you look back to the day he signed, you will find my comment stating he was overrated, he was only used as a sub by Mourinho who also obviously didn’t rate him either despite what he might of said publicly.
Serge
“Pierre hope you are coping with the loss of your favourite player of all time”
Ha..not even close …he might make the top ten …maybe.
This game shows why we aren’t good enough now. Both Southampton and Leicester are showing intensity levels that I have seen from us only on rare occasions. And I have to admit I am also enjoying Theo Walcott playing at his best.
I have to say when I proposed brendan rodgers as manager people mocked me, heaped scorn, abuse and disrespect on me.
Boy they are looking stupid now. Arsenal 11th lecister in 2nd.
“If you look back to the day he signed, you will find my comment stating he was overrated, he was only used as a sub by Mourinho who also obviously didn’t rate him either despite what he might of said publicly”
27 goals and 81 assists in his last three RM seasons, yea, overrated sounds about right.
He must’ve been some kinda super sub lol.
I hope we see the end of the whole shocking episode – mismanaged from the the start. Ozil was never equipped to play day in day out in the EPL hence his contract should have represented this. To give him a huge wage with few performance targets was inexcusable and exposed the lack of executive leadership at the club. Yes Ozil did not award himself the contract – the club did. Now he will walk after 3 years of contributing next to nothing, taking millions in wages and leaving a very bad taste. He will not miss out financially either… Read more »
“This game shows why we aren’t good enough now. Both Southampton and Leicester are showing intensity levels that I have seen from us only on rare occasions. And I have to admit I am also enjoying Theo Walcott playing at his best.”
And neither Rodgers or Hasenhuttle spent much time,if any ,directing traffic, seems their player just somehow know what to do.
Must be magic.
Ozil was and maybe still is a uniquely talented footballer who if had perhaps only 50% of Ronaldo’s dedication/ambition would have been a true legend of the game. Greatly enjoyed him on his good days in particular the way he effortlessly accelerated our play but did he frustrate like not shooting when in good positions or waving a leg as an excuse for a tackle.
Ian Selley
Jeanette and Kliger I have supported Arsenal for just 53 years and can honestly say that Mesut Ozil is head and shoulders the most embarrassing, frustrating and dysfunctional player to ever play for our club. You may think that the club hastreated him appallingly but based on his actions these past few years, I would say he’s brought it all upon himself. I don’t go on gossip, I go on what I see with my own eyes. You are right, “Ozil WAS a brilliant footballer” but his petulant/ immature persona has shown him to be an embarrassment not only to… Read more »
Rams is being eliminated by GB. KSE may have time now to find out what happens to Arsenal.
Stefan Schwarz
“I think I read one post bemoaning the appointrment of Garlick because we didnt need a non-football person. I would go the other way and suggest that position was pretty close to a number one priority to stop us fucking up financially at almost every turn.” Yeah, that was me. Let’s look at that. Garlic worked for the FA – how many player contracts did he negotiate there? None. Before that he was at WBA. Hardly super-agent elite player level is it? He may turn out to be a great hire but that remains to be seen. Sure we’ve wasted… Read more »
Sadly I think that ‘I hate Green Bay’ is going to be disappointed today.
Does Kroenke care Nelson?
Still time for rams
I hope browns win tomorrow… gotta love the underDawg
I must say Harvey Barnes is having a good season. Hardly gets mentioned. Very good player.
Lol… Harvey Barnes is very average
Harvey Barnes would walk into this arsenal team.
Lol… Harvey Barnes is very average
Yeah 13 goals so far this season average.
I was wondering how come we target the Barcelona’s Brazilian goalkeeper, Neto. Then I found out that his agent is Kia. Now that explains everything.
Ozil saga was bittersweet. He was the catalyst for ending our trophy draught, he damn near won us the league in 16 and we would have if we had a Auba with pace in front of Ozil instead of Giroud. But his later years were far from being ideal or professional. I still wish him the best for the future. We move on.
@kris
Lol way to call out the man
Saladin
We never came close to winning the league in 2016. Lay off the mushrooms.
andy 1886 Richard Garlick worked previously as Director of Football at the Premier League and in a similar role at WBA. He is a qualified solicitor specialising in sports law. My guess is that he will be appointed as an Executive Director to sit alongside Tim Lewis and the Kroenke’s on Board and he will oversee the “football business” of club including contracts. The scouting and recruitment of players will be handled by Arteta and Edu. Unlike Raul I suspect that he will be more “arms length” in his dealings with agents, which based on what has happened in the… Read more »
Pedro, This post is spot on about Ozil. Great write up…. I think its worth mentioning that Gazidis and likely Wenger figured he would be the marquee player on the team, help attract other players, help us win- but with Sanchez gone, he completely tanked and the rest is history I am not a Wenger fan, but the way he treated and took advantage of him was not cool at all. Wenger, being mr non confrontational just coddled him… He took advantage of being the big fish and for that I cannot forgive him. His Ego was his downfall, His… Read more »