Arsenal: Top 3 priorities for Mikel Arteta to move this club forward

1. Lose Mesut Ozil

I’ve started prefacing every mention of selling Mesut Ozil with the same prelude—I really like Mesut Ozil, both as a human being and as a player. But anyone who thinks he’s got a place at this club is delusional. It’s not a condemnation of his quality, it’s just a matter of where the club is at right now.

Ozil is gobbling up so much of our wage structure and he is providing so little in return. He’s providing so little in return because the club has simply evolved past the point of needing a luxury player like him. Or, if we do need a luxury player like him, it won’t be until well into the future when we’ve built a formidable and consistent force.

Arteta has given Ozil every chance in the world to make this work and it just hasn’t panned out. It won’t be easy selling him, but price shouldn’t be the question. All we need to focus on is freeing up those wages and opening up a brand new midfield potential with his exit.

If you can’t sell Ozil, you’re sailing an anchored ship for another season. That’s not an over-exaggeration either. It’s how things are.