Arsenal: Mesut Ozil alone does not solve financial problems

Arsenal are reportedly upping their efforts to sell Mesut Ozil. But ridding of the German midfielder does not solve the financial problems.

Arsenal are in a financial mess. They were already in trouble before they signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, their records cushioned by the sales of Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Then they added £400,000-a-week to their wage bill, splashed £56 million on a new centre-forward, and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second-straight season.

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At the same time, the Gunners also signed Mesut Ozil to a new contract worth £350-000 per week, allegedly the eighth-highest deal in the world — the figures are always a little shrouded, but that was the report. Not exactly frugal.

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They are now paying the price for those misguided financial decisions. According to the Sun, Arsenal are set to announce pre-tax losses of more than £50 million. Obviously, that is not ideal. When you are conducting a self-sustainable model that relies on the money you bring in without being bankrolled by an egregiously wealthy owner, being financially smart is absolutely vital. That, evidently, is not something that the north London outfit has been.

And so, there is a growing pressure on Unai Emery to sell Ozil, who is seen as the greatest leach on the club’s finances. Shipping out Ozil’s wages would be extremely freeing for Emery, who I am sure would like to reinvest them in players that he would rather have at his disposal, and it would alleviate some of the financial pressures that club is under. But ridding of Ozil, while a major step in the right direction, will not solve the problematic finances alone.

Ozil’s wage amounts to £18.2 million per year. Realistically, he would fetch, at best, a fee of around £20 million in the transfer market. That means that selling him would release £38.2 million. But in reality, it will be much less than that.

That is the best-case scenario. The fee likely will not amount to that and there have been serious suggestions that Arsenal will have to subsidise a substantial portion of the German’s wages, potentially as much as half. That would, assuming they are able to negotiate well, provide £29.1 million. That is at least £20 million less than their pre-tax losses.

They are still significant sums and should not be overlooked. Selling Ozil is a smart move financially. But to think that he is the sole problem at the club that needs to be solved this summer would be utterly naive. There are other financial decisions that must be made, including other players to sell, making the recruitment more efficient, and making the most of the assets that are already at the club.

Yes, Ozil is a problem that needs to be addressed. And yes, selling him will unquestionably help. But the financial restrictions Arsenal are dealing with are deeper rooted than what selling one player can solve. Much more work than that must be done.