If recent reports are to be believed then Arsenal are increasingly confident that Mesut Ozil will agree to sign a new contract at the club after repeated negotiations failing between the club and the player in the recent past. However, it is also true that unlike rebel Alexis Sanchez, Ozil’s stance hasn’t been so strict and he is really looking forward to the new deal, with a hike in his wages.
However, the World Cup winner is in the final 12 months of his current deal with Arsenal and will be allowed to have discussions with clubs outside England and if Arsenal wait until January to start talks. With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gone and Alexis Sanchez on the brink of leaving, losing Ozil will be the last thing Arsenal want.
The German playmaker posted a passionate message on his fourth anniversary with the club asking fans and former players to support the club instead of criticizing it after every poor display. However, not everyone took it lightly with Arsenal legend Ian Wright coming back at him in a bitter manner.
He said, “Sign a contract if you feel that strongly about people criticising the team because you’re somebody who is integral to Arsenal’s success. You’re not signing a deal and you’re probably going to continue to hide behind the fact that [Alexis] Sanchez is the one that everybody’s going to say, ‘Is he going to go?”
Ozil’s ask for a wage hike has also been questioned by many owing to his poor displays every now and then. Arsenal’s latest defeat to Liverpool also saw the German international not putting in the needed work rate even with the side losing 4-0. However, Ozil’s advocates and Arsene Wenger himself believe that the playmaker excels in creating chances and he shouldn’t be judged by his defensive attributes.
There is much more than what meets the eyes with Ozil. The five times German player of the year has provided 42 assists and scored 23 goals for Arsenal so far. His ability to create chances is unparalleled in the Premier League. Even in Arsenal’s poorest season, which was last year, Ozil engineered a whopping 98 chances in 33 games.
Arsenal brought Ozil back in 2013, making him the third most expensive signing in British football history, after Fernando Torres that year. The Premier League does not have a second number 10 of his calibre. Staying in the fringes, Ozil’s ability to play the ghost passes cannot be matched and the kind of style he plays in could pull him for another three years easily.
Hence, if Arsenal do manage to extend his contract now, they will not have to worry about the productivity up front at least for the next five years. Surely, Ozil signing a contract will be one of the best pieces of business from Arsenal in recent times.
