Arsenal: Top 5 must-sell players this summer

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LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 07: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on March 07, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images) /

4. Mesut Ozil

Money, money, money. As Josh Kroenke famously said last season, Arsenal are a Europa League team on a Champions League wage budget. That, surprisingly, is not a sustainable way to run a football club. And Mesut Ozil’s £350,000-per-week salary is a crucial reason why the club is now struggling to keep up financially.

The contract is crippling. Ozil is not performing close to the world star that he is paid to be, he is now 31 and is declining substantially, and will also not be a part of the future of the team under Mikel Arteta. There is good reason to sell irrespective of his contract. When you throw his wage into the mix, it is a no-brainer.

Now, whether you can find a club that is willing to match those wages or not remains to be seen. But even if Arsenal let him leave for nothing to subsidise the extortionate wage, that would still be a progressive move, freeing up much-needed flexibility in the wage budget. Ozil is a drain of resources. It is time to move on, any way possible.

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