Morning all.
Happy now?
Arsenal left it late but what a great way to end this summer transfer window. Many deals went through yesterday but Arsenal smashed it with the signing of Thomas Partey, the midfield player many of us wanted to see arrive at the club.
Partey is no ordinary player. He’s been playing a key role in a strong Atletico Madrid side. He’s experienced, strong, powerful and athletic. He is everything Arsenal have needed for ten years or more. At least he is if he brings his Atletico Madrid form with him to England. Partey will wear the No 18 shirt and join up with his new team-mates next after the international break.
Straight in for the trip to Manchester City I wonder?
Edu:
Thomas has all the right attributes to be a top player for Arsenal. He is a leader on and off the pitch and he is exactly the kind of player and person we want at the club. We already feel like we know Thomas very well based on the work we have done analysing his performances closely in recent times.
With his all-round game and positive aggressive style, he will be a brilliant addition to our squad. We’ve made a strong start to the season and we want to continue to build on this with Thomas now part of our club.”
Mikel Arteta added:
“We have been watching Thomas for a while, so we’re now delighted to add such a high quality player to our squad. He is a dynamic midfielder with great energy. He brings a lot of experience from a top club that has competed at the highest level in La Liga and the Champions League for several years.
We’re very impressed with his attitude and his approach to the game. He’s an intelligent footballer and we’re looking forward to him integrating into our system and contributing to the progress we’re building at the moment at the club.”
I think he’s going to make a huge difference to the way we play with his energy, burst of pace and ability to run with the ball at speed. He’s strong too. Honestly, I can’t wait to see him in an Arsenal shirt, doing his thing. He’s a cracking signing in my opinion so we’ll done Arsenal for getting this deal done.
If Simeone is as reported, angry about the way Arsenal left it so late to trigger the get out clause, then perhaps he should lay the blame with his clubs negotiators because a deal could have been struck weeks ago I’m sure had they been prepared to include Torreira as part of the deal. I guess that’s the problem with a ‘get out’ fee. Unless there’s an expiry date, any buying club can leave it as late as they like to pay the money.
Here is our summer transfer dealings in full thanks to Goal.com
Arsenal summer signings:
- Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid)
- Pablo Mari (Flamengo)
- Cedric Soares (Southampton)
- Willian (Chelsea, free)
- Gabriel Magalhaes (Lille)
- Runar Alex Runarsson (Dijon)
- Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid, loan)
- Omar Rekik (Hertha Berlin)
- George Lewis (Larvik)
- Tim Akinola (Huddersfield)
- Salah-Eddine (Feyenoord)
- Jonathan Dinzeyi (Tottenham)
Arsenal summer departures:
- Lucas Torreira (Atletico Madrid, loan)
- Matteo Guendouzi (Hertha Berlin, loan)
- Daniel Ballard (Blackpool, loan)
- Konstantinos Mavropanos (Stuttgart, loan)
- Zech Medley (Gillingham, loan)
- Zak Swanson (MVV Maastricht, loan)
- Trae Coyle (Gillingham, loan)
- Jordi Osei-Tutu (Cardiff, loan)
- Ben Sheaf (Coventry City, loan)
- Matt Smith (Swindon Town, loan)
- Tyreece John-Jules (Doncaster, loan)
- Mark McGuinness (Ipswich, loan)
- Sam Greenwood (Sold – Leeds)
- Emiliano Martinez (Sold – Aston Villa)
- Robbie Burton (Dinamo Zagreb)
- Matthew Dennis (Released)
- Tobi Omole (Released)
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Roma)
The club has done well I think. Plus of course, the contract extension’s signed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka.
Losing Emi Martinez was the downside of the transfer window but managing to loan out Konstantinos Mavropanos, Matteo Guendouzi, and Lucas Torreira together with offloading Henrikh Mkhitaryan was good business. Just a shame Sead Kolasinac and Sokratis couldn’t get a move away, for them as much as for Arsenal. Same for Calum Chambers who having been out for such a long time, would have benefited from a loan or a permanent move away from the club.
Yesterday might have been the final date for Premier League clubs to sign overseas players or players from within the same division but they can still sign footballers from the Championship and other EFL clubs should they wish. Up until 5pm Friday 16th October.
See you in the comments guys.
Morning rico, all. Arteta has the tools I believe now, so let’s see what he can do, I certainly think we will be around the top four. With Partey holding, maybe Ceballas can be a bit more advanced and add the creativity we need. As said last night, well done Arteta, Edu and the Board, paying get-out without further sales shows the ambition that Arteta deserved.
Arteta’s last words before TDD were there had been internal goings on, which I now take to be the go-ahead to pay full sum. Felt most excitement at 11.10 last night when Arsenal Twitter feed finally invited fans to RSVP for an 11.15 party, since staying in a bar abroad one night till after midnight, waiting for Ozil confirmation!
Good report rico, thanks for full goings on.
Nice one, Rico!
Gunnersaurus will return along with the fans. So that’s good news. If they’re stuck, I’ll do it for nothing… haha! Imagine high-fiving all the players!!
Feeling elated today… and can’t wait to see the beast unleashed!
Good morning all, yep a cracking signature to get. I have one reservation after watching the you tube clips, the flailing arm. More than once a player was left on the ground, after being tackled, as a result of an arm across his chest or even a bit higher. Our Tom could become a target for Mike Dean and his brotherhood.
Morning Andrew, all.
I feel more confident about our season now than I did before Partey signed. Do we need more additions? Probably, but Arteta and Edu know that I’m sure.
They’ve had to prioritise during this window I think and with no CL football, blokes like Ozil ripping the club off, wages are crippling us.
I think we’ve done some really positive transfer business this summer, just retaining Auba, Saka, Ceballos for another season was positive but Gabriel looks at home already and we’ve yet to really see Cedric and Mari over time.
Ha ha Sue, I’ll fight you for the job. 😂
How Arsenal ‘went big’ to sign Partey in a deal two years in the making
Since Arsenal’s interest in Thomas Partey first intensified in 2018, the Ghanaian midfielder has made a habit of regularly tuning into their games from his home in Madrid. He has watched the undulations of the last two years with interest, always hoping the club he was intent on joining would one day come back for him.
On transfer deadline day, Arsenal finally made good on their promise. A message to the Partey camp on Monday morning indicated the club were willing to meet his €50 million release clause. Atletico Madrid, unwilling to let Partey go, have sought to increase the value of the clause several times over the past few seasons. By the time they were aware of Arsenal’s deadline-day operation, the player had been all but snatched away, the whole deal done in Spain. It was La Liga who informed Atletico Partey’s clause had been triggered, rather than Arsenal themselves. Atletico were left furious at the lack of notice, with one senior source describing Arsenal’s approach as “incredible” and feel the relationship between the two clubs is irreparable.
The discourteous approach is reminiscent of when Arsenal approached Mikel Arteta without first contacting Manchester City. Arsenal will plead that deadline day, with the clock ticking down, is no time for courtesy — it is a time to be bold, and this signing is certainly a bold move.
Read: Arsenal watched new signing Thomas Partey more than 20 times before paying his release clause to sign him from Atletico Madrid. Here’s how they finally closed the deal…
https://theathletic.com/2116973/2020/10/05/thomas-partey-arsenal-atletico/
Morning campers, so theoretically Rico, Arsenal could still go and sign Aaron’s from Norwich if they had the finance? Good post btw…
You know, what with the financial strife of so many Football League clubs, now is a good time to maybe cherry pick any decent players especially as many of them are English, the young midfielder at Norwich for example whose name escapes me?
Good morning Rico and all.
Thumps up for Invincible Edu and Arteta for the good work. A massive work done.
I’m happy to see Partey play for. He brings quality and leadership to our midfield.
Off the top of my head, Arsenal have 19 foreign players and so two of them can’t be registered in our squad of 25 (17 max)
Kev, that would have been solved if Kolasinac had left as expected and an agreed loan for Saliba had gone through. Now, it must be between those two, Mustafi, Ozil or Socratis? mmmm
A further signing has been announced on Arsenal com to add to the list! Nikolaj Moller, 18 year old Swedish striker from Malmö.
Morning Kev, yes, I believe so. I think there are a number of good players in the Championship to be had. Bristol City have a guy called Patterson who can stop setting up goals..
Morning Paddy. Big thumbs up from me too.
Kev, I reckon Ozil will be one of the two. Lol
I think the club might let one or two go for free, just to remove their wages. I doubt there’ll be much in it if their value v wages were compared. Might as well let Ozil go too imo.
Meats has really bolstered his academy Andrew. He needed to I guess as we’ve so many younger players out.
We paid an awful lot of money for Saliba. Most journalists expected him to be in our team before Gabriel. Does Arteta not rate him as he’s been around the club for a few months now? I know his injuries last year were mentioned, but 27 million is a lot for someone not ready.
Morning Rico. All this AM furious stuff is cobblers surely.
Hi Andrew, I was watching the Arsenal Vision transfer podcast from 6pm till 10pm on You Tube, which whilst sounding a bit sad is definitely an improvement on refreshing Ceefax back in the day. 😉
Saliba was signed at 18 so he’s home based like Bellerin and Martinez (was), but yeah, Arteta needs to perm 2 from 4 and I’m not sure how you do that, sell to China or the United States?
We’re stuck with Ozil but we knew that anyway, tbh in general I don’t give him a thought anymore, he obviously loves money more than he loves football – what a legacy eh?
Maybe the club could refrain from naming Mari in the 25 until after January as he’s not going to be fit for awhile longer? Then we can use Sokratis and Kolasinac and try to move them on in January?
, Every time his name is listed alongside Vieira’s his picture will be posted on the walls at Stockley Park . Riley will put a target on his back and the lenience shown to Lamella will be wiped from the archives.
It’s a good signing that gives Arteta more variation in an area which has been a problem for some time. People are querying where the money came from . It is reported that we offered £ 32 – 35 million for Aouar so we must have had that as Aulas was not taking installments , so the extra 10 probably came from the savings on other deals . I doubt Kroenke opened fort Knox to assist.
Hi Rico, I’ll check out Patterson, his first name isn’t Les by any chance?
I did read that we got a £7m loan fee from Atletico.
Andrew, interesting question re Saliba. He wasn’t an Arteta signing so it could be he isn’t the type of player Arteta wants. Although he did say, Saliba needs a season of playing without injury.
Shame he didn’t get that loan but with all the fixtures we have, plus Europa and our usual injuries, he might find himself playing soon in any case.
James Kev. Writes well apparently. Lol
Morning Adam. I expect so. It’s not like they weren’t aware of our interest. Naive if they didn’t see it coming. Plus why sign Torreira if Partey was staying.
Morning all.
Apparently Saliba’s mum died merely a week before he headed to London and he’s struggling, so the feeling was letting him head home for a season would be good for the young lad.
He also had an injury interrupted season which maybe hindered his progress a bit so it would’ve been a decent move all round, imo.
Eight Centre Backs 😀
Will be the first season then, when we are not short after injuries in that area!
Agreed Rico. They’ve spent too much money recently and their fans are not happy that their football is really dreadful and attritional so they want to deflect some home criticism. This ‘buy-out clause’ way of doing business seems even weirder now.
Scott, poor lad. Let’s hope he gets over things and becomes a future first team player.
Andrew, it’s in him.
He’s a proper beast but is still a boy.
Let’s bring him along steadily and we will reap the rewards.
This rubbish with Athletico being upset at how we’ve gone about things-utter crap!!!
If they haven’t got their end sorted then that’s their problem.
We have too often been too decent and not ruthless enough.
Buy out clauses mean open slather so no sympathy at all for them because if it suited them, they’d have done the same thing 🙂
Mari is expected back after this international break Kev.
We’re not going to get any transfer fee for Ozil or Mustafi now, so why not try and terminate their contracts. I don’t know if Arsenal would have to pay them off but if both found another club, surely they wouldn’t squabble over a few quid they might feel the club owes them.
Copied off Twitter….explains things pretty well imo
“5 months ago, William Saliba apparently lost his mother. With 19 years of age, having to do a transition to another country with a different language and culture, it’s a lot to handle. We judged Arteta not knowing that William could still be affected and he’s nurturing him in”.
Rico, we really may as well pay Ozil our first the season and let him go.
Just get rid of the entire situation and tuck it to bed forever.
It’s doing nobody any good seeing photos of him training, his tweets etc etc and I don’t blame him entirely for the situation, but best to just get rid of it.
Mustafi-I’m really surprised he isn’t part of Arteta’s plans after his most recent performances.
Rico, if Ozil is immovable and by cancelling his contract we still have to pay him, I’d just keep him and let him sit out the last year, it’s going to cost us the same and it’ll cost him a year of his career (his choice) and stop him earning money from another club on top of what we pay him, it also has detrimental effect on his image, staying around for the money isn’t going to attract sponsors. He could have left and had a great career in Turkey but he choose to stay, he would say on principle but you do have to wonder when you see the things he tweets and what his agent says, although Dr Sogut has been very quiet recently….
I didn’t know that Scott. Losing your mum at any age is terribly hard but he’s still a kid. Great shame he couldn’t go back home, even if was until Christmas, or a loan with a clause that he comes back whenever he’s ready. Tough for him…
I only read that today, Rico.
It says plenty about Arteta as well, I reckon, that he was prepared to allow him to head back for the season to be with family but it is what it is.
Let’s hope Saliba settles in and flourishes.
I wouldn’t let Mustafi go, he’s a more effective player for Arteta and Arteta clearly doesn’t rate Sokratis, so I guess the two to sit it out Rico are the Papa and Mesut, they could fill their time I guess talking about holidays or politics or the situation in the Nagorno Karabakh.
Agree Adam. Leaves clubs open to exactly what happened last night.
Hi Rico and all great news about Partey but from what I have he his getting 250 Thousand per week if that is true I hope he settles in quicker than Pepe has all Arteta has to do now is get 2 international player off our book
It does Scott.
I only mentioned Mustafi Kev as he’s off for free next summer anyway. Mind you, that’s assuming he’s not offered a contract extension. I think he’s improved under Arteta too.
Good point re Ozil Kev. I’d tell him not to bother training because imagine how the rest of the players feel. He’s clearly not interested in playing football.
Hi Geoff, does it matter what he’s earning? Fans moan when the club don’t show intent, yet moan when they do. I don’t understand it.
That £250k a week, and Auba’s pay rise, could end up being the difference between finishing in the top four, winning the Europa League or nothing.
When we hear of players having their contract terminated (Willshire Welbeck) that means the club pay them off in full,it wouldn’t be legal otherwise, the only exception being misconduct.
Arsenal must be tempted to do that with Ozil – just move on, although Kev makes a good point.
Rico all I am saying is are you willing to pay all amount and have him take as long as Pepe has to settle, all I am saying is that I hope he does not take as long as Pepe after all between Partey, Auba and Ozil is a lot of money each week if only one is playing well and at the moment Auba has not scored a goal this year it’s a big gamble when you look at what Partey was on going by what they have read we are paying him almost double what he was earning
It’s rather sad to see how Wilshere in particular and Welbeck, who are both still quite young, have seen their careers nosedive, the romantic in me would love to see Arsenal take Jack on a pay as you play contract but that’s never going to happen, but I guess there is an opportunity for both to move to the MLS where the level won’t be as stressful and they could play out their years in a nice environment, as long as they avoid the occasional Antifa riot of course.
Sokratis would be a great signing for a Championship club, good solid player, great attitude.
That thought did cross my mind Limey, he could go on loan to a Championship team with the proviso that he could leave in January if an acceptable offer comes in – and who knows he might find he enjoys it and stays?
When you think about it we’re only 12.5 weeks away from the January window or 10.5 weeks after the international break, so these guys like Mustafi and Sokratis and Luiz can start negotiating to leave Arsenal in the blink of an eye, they might even leave in January, Ozil won’t of course he wants every single dime and he’s entitled to it, but he’s not entitled to anything else!
Geoff, I sometimes struggle to understand your view and I don’t mean that to sound disrespectful but it seems to me that you often look to the negatives rather than be positive.
Some players do struggle to settle into a new league and considering the amount of times Pepe got kicked last season, I’m not surprised he struggled. Pires did too but he turned out to be a fab player for us. I remain optimistic Pepe will too. Partey is a big strong guy who won’t get bullied off the ball i’m sure and there’s no reason to expect he’ll fail in England imo.
Can EFL sign PL players though?
Very sad re Jack and Welbeck, the latter has just been released by Watford. Things like that make me detest a Ozil even more.
Ozil must adore money more than playing. One day I imagine he’ll look back and wonder why he behaved the way he did when many of his admirers were struggling with the Covid thing. It makes his words about loving the club sound very hollow. The best that can come out of him is that the club learns a serious lesson.
I think they have.
Where is his personal and professional pride?
Money, money, money.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12091766/mesut-ozil-offers-to-pay-for-gunnersaurus-to-stay-at-arsenal
He can’t have any self pride. To stay when he knows he’s not going to play shows what kind of guy he is.
Rico. If he gives me £250,000, I will forgive him.
I’ll forgive for £125,000
£50k would do me Kev/Adam. I don’t like to be greedy.
10k but in Pounds, but Aussie dollars.
I don’t have the extravagant lifestyle you lot do hahaha
Morning all.
Jack on pay to play……id support that.
Rico no offence taken I try to look at things from both sides, I agree with letting the mascot go until we get fans back at matches how ever the club states that they had no option but sack over 50 staff and scouts now the mascot due to lack of money then we go out and buy a play at 250 thousand pounds per week so were does that leave the club standing if we can not have any fans for the whole of this season I just question the timing of such amount of pay. As for Arteta I believe a coach should just concentrate on coaching and leave other people to do the running of the club We need a committee that will say thanks but you’re services are no longer required not like the Wenger time when no one would take responsibility I know we needed a good quality midfielder and I glad we got Partey but did we need to offer him so much why not say 150 thousand per week and If we make top 4 then pay him the full amount for the rest of the contract
Geoff, you have to pay what a player is worth in the current climate.
We can’t complain about poor performances And demand a stronger squad if we aren’t prepared to pay the price.
Arteta isn’t even close to running the club, but really, what manager doesn’t want a day in his squad??
Take the sentiment out of things and why pay staff for doing little or nothing, because that’s what’s happening with no crowds attending games.
Whether we like it or not, it’s reality.
I don’t understand the constant Ozil bashing here. Ozil has not refused to play or practice. It is the team that has refused to play him. And it is not a matter of working hard either. Wherever Ozil has played there was always and adequate DM to protect, just like Kroos has at Real, Silva had at City, James at Everton etc, etc. It’s not Ozil fault that Arsenal has failed to acquire a proper DM or B to B since Gilberto and Viera. Ozil was acquired to provide assist and he held his end of the bargain. It’s straight up hypocrisy to suggest that he should give up his salary or move somewhere else. How many of us would realistically do that?
Additionally, a team hasn’t came in with an offer for him and he has refused. And even if that has happened, it is within his right if he doesn’t want to uproot his family. The assumption that Ozil is at fault is unrealistic, there could be much more behind the scenes than just difference in football philosophies. The references to Ozil political views or “friends” is also irrelevant. Many of us and players have political views that are different, and so? It is their views. The idea of requiring tolerance only on the views we agree with is intolerance. We expect players to honor their contracts but clubs not to, really? Doesn’t Arsenal has the option of loaning him out at various clubs and paying a portion of his salary? United did that with Sanchez ‘s 400 per week salary?
Obi, you make a some great points and I’ve said that all he’s doing is demanding a contract be fulfilled.
We criticise other players for forcing their way out of a contract so it’s strange to criticise someone for doing the opposite.
I wonder how he’d go with Partey on the pitch??
Nice one Obi and Scott
I saw this online (will please a lot of folk)
We’ve got Ozil
Mesut Ozil
I just don’t think you understand
Don’t’ play for us no more
But saved our dinosaur
We’ve got Mesut Ozil 🙂
Hahaha Sue.
Ozil just isn’t the type of player Emery wanted him to be, probably not what plenty of fans wanted him to be but again, how often do we hear fans complain that contracts aren’t honoured and mean nothing nowadays?
Offer me 350k a week and I’m taking it, and so is every fan yet now he’s the bad guy?
I understand criticism of some onfield antics or lack of effort from him, and that’s led to the frustration but Partey would, imo, help bring out the best in Ozil if the situation were to eventuate that he’s ever on the pitch again.
Food for thought, I reckon.
Obi. I believe you are mistaken about Ozil. I haven’t read anybody on here say that he isn’t entitled to do what he is doing. The club gave him a stupid contract for whatever reason and when Mikel came he decided, after several games, that he didn’t fit into where he wanted to take the club. Fair enough, it happens all the time. I imagine that Ozil has been told this and surely, implicit in that conversation, would be the fact that the best option was for him to move on so he could continue to play football. Being toward the end of his career that makes sense. Financially I imagine that the club would even be prepared to meet a portion of his salary to both reduce his cost and so he could play football rather than just sitting around.
One of Arteta’s ‘non-negotiables’ is that, if you train properly and buy into his plan then you will play. Perhaps Ozil hasn’t done this because we surely could still do with some creativity in the team. Lesser players than him are playing for us regularly.
If the papers are to be believed, a Turkish team has come in for him but he apparently didn’t want to take up their offer as he is entitled to do.
Most players would surely want to play and if they had to move to do so then perhaps they would. These are extraordinarily testing times for the club and it seems to me and most of the Arsenal fans I know that Mesut should possibly consider moving somewhere that he could play. But he doesn’t seem to agree. He can sit there until the last moment of his contract though. If that’s what he wants to do and it looks increasingly likely that will happen. As with all agreements, there is a personal and a moral dimension to it too but I won’t go into that now.
Well said Adam, and you make good points.
I don’t understand how the guy could be happy to sit around not playing as he’s already a damn wealthy man, and believe he should’ve done everything possible to move elsewhere but plenty of fans (to clarify, on various social media platforms) have crucified him because of the staff losses and that I can’t agree with.
Messy situation, and one with no winners at all because even those Arsenal fans who loved watching Ozil play will remember him more for this.
Agreed Scott. As you know, I don’t ‘do’ social media so have no idea of what is being said about him on there. But I find it hard to believe that there isn’t a bit of arrogance involved here.
As I said, I’ve never heard anybody on HH say that he can’t do what he’s doing. But I do think that his contract and the mistakes that the club have made with it, will be taken on board. After all Stan must have signed off on it.
I’m also struggling to think of any other Arsenal player in a similar position but do remember Chelsea’s Winston Borgarde doing the same thing.
I read somewhere that Ozil had a bad back which makes me think if Arteta needs to get 2 more international players off the books can we put Ozil on the long term injury list their for Arteta would only have to find another club for 1 player
Such a waste of talent this past 2 years or so.
At his best, even for us, he was sublime to watch.
I would like to have seen Ozil line up with Partey for a few games.
Expensive old contract for very little return.
Scott. Arsenal are paying elite money for an elite player. Perhaps Mikel will redefine his role and give him a chance alongside Partey. It could work. Who knows?
I’d like to see it, Adam, even if for a few European games to test the waters.
Ozil is superb when alongside superb players, not a game changer on his own and the money paid was just ridiculous, but we all know that 🙂
Still, at the wage, we might as well try and get a return of some sort.
Ozil bashing on here Obi, I don’t think there is. I think I along with others struggle to understand why any footballer with the talent he possesses wouldn’t want to play the game instead of putting money first.
Morning all.
Agree Adam. With the amount of money he’s already made from the game, if it was me, I’d want my last few years in the game to be playing days. Be remembered for the footballer I was and not the guy who just takes the money.
The one thing we know about Mikel Arteta is that he’s willing to give players a fresh start. Xhaka, Enleny, Mustafi etc are proof of that but they have to work for that chance in training. I admired Artet’s balls to hand the captains armband to Xhaka the other day. Why not too? Some of us might not think he’s great for Arsenal but he’s clearly impressing Arteta.
Morning Rico.
Xhaka really went through a tough period and has come out the other side better for it, imo.
That was a lovely touch from our manager.
Morning Rico and all just wondering how we would look if we still had Sanchez, Santi and Partey
Morning Rico and All
I think I read somewhere Ozil has made the squad that may have been before he decided to embarrass The Arsenal with the gift of paying the greens for the match day Dino can’t spell the real name.
Lots of views everywhere on Ozil if he wants to get splinters on his arse that’s his business with all seen the best and worst of him by now
cheery on the cake player could never play 10 V 11 he reminds me of a player years ago we called hide and seek even the lady who washed the kit knew who he was.
Adam wrote :- One of Arteta’s ‘non-negotiables’ is that, if you train properly and buy into his plan then you will play.
And there is the nub of the argument , not the first bit but the second . Ozil simply was not able or prepared to adhere to the second part of buying into the plan . It’s all well and good to talk about the players around him and that if he has someone to do the donkey work he will thrive and be allowed to do his thing .
But doing HIS thing is not buying into Arteta’s thing .
With the limitations of the players around him in midfield Ozil needed to add to his skill set to help compensate for the lesser players . However getting him to suddenly learn how to tackle , chase back at his age is not easy and one which we could all see he either couldn’t do it for 90 minutes and although he did chase players when we lost the ball he was never consistent with it .
I am not saying that it was all his own fault, old dogs and new tricks but he did not have to do any of that in his golden years at Real Madrid . He had not only Ronaldo , Benzema and Higuain to feed the ball to but had Khedira , Lassana Diarra and Xabi Alonso doing the dirty stuff for him and then when Zidane turned up he was not seen as an asset by another great midfield player and we got him in a last second deal.
If you are going have Ozil as a nucleus you have to have satellites around him . Tactically he is a one trick pony , good at what he does but not diverse and adaptable.enough to carry a team that comprises a number of lesser players. Both Arteta and Zidane before him have concluded that Less is more . They can get more from lesser players as a unit than with a better player not working for the collective .
Potter, we bought him knowing exactly what we were getting.
That’s a fact.
Wasn’t it Joe Say who was manager of Real when we bought him?
Pretty sure it was before Zidanes stint.
Morning Scott, Geoff.
Must admit Scott, I thought Xhaka was out of order at the time but then I read about the social media stuff. Same with Mustafi.
‘People’ don’t realise just how damaging their social media comments can be.
Morning Fred, perhaps as someone already mentioned, now we have that strong midfield player, it will offer Ozil a return. In an ideal world, it’d work. Who knows, but surely there’ll be some Europa fixtures in which we’ll see his left foot work again.
Potter, funny you say that, Ozil was at his best I think when he had Alexis playing around him.
I am wondering now The Germany football association has said it could of handled the Ozil situation better. Did it make Ozil loose his spirit for the game after all the issue’s with the photo of him and the Turkish president and Germany football association
Rico, Alexis gave Ozil what he needed-an option to pass to as he was always making great runs.
They worked brilliantly together at times.
Geoff,
I reckon it went a long way to breaking the guy.
He was blamed for Germany’s World Cup failure for political reasons.
Sad.
Ozil want to help Gunnersaurus according to a story in Just arsenal news at 21:35 Mesut Ozil wins PR war for Gunnersaurs
Scott, I just think Emery and Arteta play a different way to Wenger. They demand the work ethic, defending as well as the flair I think. But that isn’t Ozil’s game.
Just to add
Ozil is one of the easiest players to man mark once he drifted out wide he become a one trick pony 99% of the time he went wide right to then drift inside his left foot
didn’t take long for him to throw the towel in
he never liked a crowd around him.
You never know with the social distancing now he could get back in.
Exactly, Rico, but unfortunately the wage made it nearly impossible to sell the guy.
Poor business and poor timing.
There is a lot of social things that possibly have driven this situation . Germany has it’s own right wing fascist movements and certainly Merkel’s open door immigration policy sparked off an anti muslim tendency and Ozil’s Turkish / Muslim roots and his outspoken comments about China and their treatment of the Uighur muslims probably put him in their sights and maybe has made him feel unsettled.
None of this however belongs on this site which is primarily about football , I still believe that Ozil will end up in Turkey to play out his career but whether his celebraty status is being used by Erdogan to take Turkey back to their pre Attaturk position remains to be seen. I would think that the only thing that has kept him straight is football and that is being taken away from him . I imagine he doesn’t know whether he is punched , bored or countersunk. His brain is somewhere else.
That’s an old one Fred. Lol
Agreed Scott, a deal which had panic written all over it. Similar to him signing in the first place really.
Adam 8.41, the voice of reason and common sense.
Afternoon campers, afternoon Rico, if Ozil was sincere about paying the wages of Gunnersaurus then he could have contacted the club and just offered to do it, he could have done it with some of the other staff who’ve been made redundant as well if he was of a mind, but he choose to do it publicly and to do it to embarrass the club and the owner so to me it’s a cheap shot and a PR stunt.
It also gets him back in the headlines and is good for his image and for selling that image to sponsors but if you choose to ignore that then fair enough.
Dr Sogut doesn’t do anything or advise Mesut to do or say anything without a reason!
Potter I don’t think any one here has spoken about politics have they if it’s about what I mentioned earlier all I said was the issue with Ozil being split between the 2 countries that he loves may be part of the reason why Ozil seems to have lost his spirit to play the game
Kev didn’t all the players take a pay cut at the start to help keep staff in a job
Re. Ozil, I understand the points that everyone is making, but I am not sure I agree with most.
Rico, I hope it was a tongue and cheek comment when you said Ozil has not been bashed here…lol. There are mainly two type of coaches. Those who coach players within a system and those who retrofit a player into a system. Obliviously Arteta has a system and Ozil doesn’t fit or doesn’t want to fit. However, since Ozil is not the General Manager or Sporting Director, it is not up to him to find a team as some have suggested. It is up to Arsenal to find a team. If the only option is Turkey and I prefer London or some other city, then management shoud do their Job. We are accusing Ozil of not doing his job, what about management? Again, the guy has not refused to work.
The idea that Ozil is a “one trick” pony is not accurate. This is a guy who provided the most assist and created the most chances in the world cup playing as a flanker. At various stages in his career he has played the 8, 10 or 11 positions. I can make an argument that from Ozil’s viewpoint, he goes to work everyday as an employee, is up to the employer to fire him and give him his severance pay.
In all honesty how many managers will make Xhaka the DM and ask Ozil to track back from the 10 position while at the same time playing Iwobi on the wing. It is tactically disastrous. But we don’t question the tactics but the players.
Hi Obi
Then and now mate in my humble opinion
Rico are you goner allow Kev to call us Camp 😁
Geoff, if my understanding is correct and that is a bit of a stretch, I believe that Ozil was one of two players who initially refused to take a cut in salary, everyone else on the playing and coaching staff took a cut.
I’ve never heard who the other was or is who refused the pay cut, so we can only guess, I also have no idea of the source who revealed that Ozil was one of those who refused, it could have come from a member of staff, from the office from a player from a friend or relative of any of those, who knows?
Wont know if there’s a chance of Ozil playing in Europe till we hear if he is in Arsenal’s Europa 25 man Squad that had to be submitted last night. If he is, then Mustafi and Socrates probably left out. Surprised we haven’t heard list yet?
Hi Di Hi Fred
Might be wrong Kev, but I thought Ozil or his Agent themselves, admitted he felt it wrong without further guidance on how the money saving would be used.
I’m wondering if the other player was someone else not in recent squads and it’s all connected? Pure guessing though as never seen name mentioned.
Just checked Newsnow to see if any mention of Registration list.
What did see is a smiling Ozil and Arteta fist-pumped in training 😀
I’m not 100% on who and when things were said Andrew but I’m pretty sure that Ozil’s PR team made those statements after it came out that he was one of the two who refused the cut, I’m still surprised that the name of the other player to refuse has never come into the public domain.
I read on another Arsenal blog(probably guesswork) that another who refused the layout was Guendouzi.
Layout ? I mean paycut
Geoff the point that I am trying to make is that all that is going on around him has detracted from football. I don’t think he knows which way to turn . I actually feel sorry for him in some ways. I think he wakes up in the morning and wonders why is this happening to him and I don’t think those around him are helping.
BTW I was wrong about Zidane it was Ancelotti I believe that sold him.
Tierney is having to self isolate for 14 days now, because of being in close contact with Stuart Armstrong, who has tested positive… no Etihad for him 😭😭 Argh!!
Afternoon Kev, all.
Nope Obi, not tongue in cheek. He’s been criticised for putting money ahead of the game, for being a lazy player but those points are real rather than opinion or battering. The bloke can’t even stay on his feet when the wind blows.
Ha ha Fred.
That is not good news about Tierney..
Like most gooners I wanted Arsene to go long before he went
Arsene says now he stayed to long
Wonder if Ozil will think that one day
The Tierney self isolation thing makes no sense.
The player who tested positive has to self isolate for 10 days
Tierney and the other player who have been in close contact with him have to self isolate for 14 days (even though have tested negative) ??????
No surprise from a country led by a Jimmy Krankie lookalike.
Well if we can’t rely on the Jocks to look after our player then maybe we shouldn’t let them borrow him until there’s a vaccine?
I can understand the need to get football back and the league programme has done as much as it can to minimise risk of spreading the virus but I can’t see where international football fits in the pattern . Dragging players out of their “” bubbles “” putting them with other players from other bubbles and then taking them halfway round the world just doesn’t make any sense .
Ozil and Sokaratis left out of Europia squad
Kev, Rick, I’ve just been reading about Charlie Patino. Is he as good, potentially as Phil Foden and may he turn out to be our new, home made creative midfielder with a wand of a left foot? Perhaps not buying Aouer(sp) will not turn out to such a miss and save at least €50m a good saving!
What do you think?