Wenger feels Ozil’s current situation is ‘a waste for him’
Legendary former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels that Mesut Ozil’s current situation at Arsenal is a waste for the player. He said this in an interview with the BBC.
Wenger shattered the transfer record at Arsenal to sign the German playmaker in a £42.5 million deal from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013. Ozil’s arrival made waves in the world of football and was seen as a statement of intent from the Gunners. Many expected the club to go on to win the Premier League.
Ozil was crucial to Arsenal in his initial years at the club. He was seen as one of the most important players in the team and was handed a new three and a half year deal in January 2018 that earned him a salary of £350,000 a week and saw him become the highest paid player in the history of the club.
After the departure of Arsene Wenger later that year, Ozil’s influence on the team consistently reduced. In Wenger’s final two seasons at the club, Arsenal’s number 10 scored 17 goals and provided 28 assists. In the two years since the Frenchman’s exit, he has scored seven goals and provided just six assists.
Arsenal have been keen to get the German out of the club but have failed to do so. Ozil is in the final year of his contract and is intent on seeing out his contract with the North London club. He has been excluded from the Gunners’ 25-man Europa League squad and is expected to be left out of the club’s Premier League squad. He has not been included in a single matchday squad so far this season.
On Ozil’s situation at Arsenal, Wenger said:
“I feel it is a waste for him.”
“Firstly because he’s in the years where a player of his talent can produce the most. And it’s a waste for the club as well because he’s a super talent, a creative talent that in the final third can create that killer pass.”
“The way football is going at the moment it’s quick counter-pressing, quick transitions and everybody plays the same. It’s kicked out players like Ozil. Although let’s not forget who this guy is. A world champion who has played at Real Madrid.”
“He’s been the record player of assists, so you have to find a way to get him involved again.”
