Arsenal: Mesut Ozil contract has damaging knock-on effect

In January, Arsenal handed Mesut Ozil a bumper £350,000-a-week contract. The decision has a damaging knock-on effect: selling him may be challenging.

When Arsenal realised that Alexis Sanchez wasn’t going to a sign a new contract and would certainly be leaving the club, they shifted their attention to re-signing Mesut Ozil to a new deal, knowing that they couldn’t afford to lose both players — that decision was as much a PR one as it was an on-the-pitch one.

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Ozil and his representatives obviously knew this. They were acutely aware of the position of the power that they enjoyed. They exploited it, as any good agent would for his client who is wanting to be rewarded for his performances.

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Ozil agreed to a new, £350,000-a-week contract, making him the highest earner at the club by some distance, even with the high-profile acquisitions of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was traded with Sanchez, in the same month, and one of the highest earners in world football. Arsenal were unequivocally committing to the enigmatic, inconsistent brilliance of the German, hoping that he could produce on a more regular, predictable and substantial basis.

In essence, there was nothing wrong with the contract. If the Gunners wanted to keep Ozil no matter what, then the price that they had to pay was, well, the price. Ozil could demand whatever he wanted and the club had no choice but to match it. So that’s what they did. But that has created a problem. Ozil is not performing and contributing like a £350,000-a-week player. Ever since he signed the contract, he’s proved the very opposite of what Arsenal hoped. The evidence points to him not being worth the outlay.

And now, with a new manager at the helm, one who seems far more willing to challenge Ozil’s attitude and performance levels, publicly calling him out after the Manchester City game and then hooking him in the very next fixture, it’s not inconceivable that the new era at the Emirates does not include Ozil.

He will turn 30 in October. His displays have been underwhelming. There have been reports of a rift between him and Unai Emery. He was again absent through ‘illness’ against West Ham United, though he returned a week later. There are enough reasons as to why Arsenal might want to sell Ozil at the end of the season.

But the new bumper contract makes it difficult. Is there another team in the world who can both afford and then be willing to pay a £350,000-a-week individual who is largely considered a luxury? There aren’t many candidates, and many of them are Premier League ones. It would be disappointing if Ozil, like Sanchez, was sold to yet another direct rival.

The Ozil contract causes problems when he doesn’t play up to the expectations that are set by such an inflated wage. If Ozil performs as hoped, then there is no issue. But as soon as his performances dip below that anticipated level, Arsenal have a conundrum on their hands, knowing that he is not useful to them but also not necessarily being able to sell him. The contract has a damaging knock-on effect that could run and run.