Arsenal: Hanging Mesut Ozil out to dry no bad thing

The contract mess with Mesut Ozil is spiralling out of control. Arsenal should not be afraid to hang him out to dry, offer him a new deal, but nothing more.

The contract mess at Arsenal is not close to being resolved. Throughout the summer, the topics of highest concern and worry centred on two things: Recruitment and retention. While some have bemoaned a lack of investment, it’s fair to say that, in Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal recruited well. The same cannot be said for the efforts of retention.

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The two most prominent figures whose futures needed to be determined were, and still are, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. Arsene Wenger, who did, in all fairness, in bullish, fashion, state that this would happen for many months, refused to sell, willing to let them enter the final year of their respective contracts.

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And while Sanchez is increasingly likely to leave North London, either in January, when the last scraps of value are garnered, or in the summer, when there will be a free-for-all to secure his signature, Ozil is reportedly finding attracting potential suitors a far tougher endeavour, and may have to climb down from his rather egregious £330,000-a-week wage demands.

Wenger has stated that he will attempt to keep both Sanchez and Ozil at the club beyond their current deals, ambitiously hoping that a last-minute deal can be agreed upon. With the Chilean, that seems improbable. He has always been a little more distant to Wenger, with his attitude more teetered towards selfish competition, rather than the harmony and togetherness of the dressing room. But with Ozil, that is not beyond the realms of possibility.

And yet, Arsenal should not be scared to hang the German out to dry. After all, as the old saying goes, no player is bigger than the club.

The Gunners should not be bowing at the feet of a player who has been painfully absent in big games, lazy and lax through the winter months, and non-committal through the summer and early weeks of this summer. It would be wrong to simply let Ozil leave. He is too good a player. But it must be for the right price. They cannot be held to ransom.

Wenger, Ivan Gazidis, and the rest of the board must make Ozil a fair and reasonable offer. They must then let him make his decision. If he chooses to leave, then so be it. He is not irreplaceable; if he chooses to stay, then wonderful, that is a world-class player tied down for the near future.

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What Arsenal cannot do is beg Ozil to stay. In this situation, they are the club, they are the professional organisation. They are bigger and more powerful than any player, and they cannot allow themselves to be dictated to, even by Ozil.