Arteta is doing Kroenke’s dirty work by Dan Smith
Before the pandemic, Ozil was starting most of the games under Arteta’s leadership. After the restart, however, the midfielder did not play a second of football despite a hectic schedule and teams are now allowed to make up to five substitutions.
He went from playing every week to not even joining the team (apparently he had a bad return on Sunday). This suggests that something happened during the blockade between the player and the manager.
The only thing we know publicly is that Ozil was one of our three players who turned down a cut. If that’s not what it is, then we still need clarification from the Arsenal Board. If there was a lack of effort in training or a bad attitude, fans will support the decision not to play it, but if not, our coach puts himself under pressure.
Some will argue that this weekend we moved on to the last 4 of the FA Cup to justify the decision. I would like to reply that by pointing out that we also lost 2 of the 4 games without the German and even when we won there was a significant lack of creativity.
If you are your ninth in the league and you have no chance, is it fair to suggest that a World Cup winner could at least make a bench when you are now allowed 9 options?
What gooners need to do is not make this a program against Ozil. It got to the point where, if you defend him, you call him an “Ozil fan boy”. Is it possible to be in the middle?
Has Ozil passed his best? Yup!
Did you come close to justifying your huge wages? No!
Do we have anyone better in his role? Statistics suggest no.
If we are strict now and we refuse to interpret people unless they are fit, then it seems right. But how come Ozil is the only one? Our entire midfield has scored 3 league goals in this campaign, so why is only one person chosen?
I’m only interested in Arsenal and what helps us win football games. I’m sorry but you will never convince me that a man who has learned tactically from Pep Guardiola tactically thinks that Matt Smith (still to start a senior game) is a better option than Ozil.
Anyone who thinks it’s high standards of the new regime. This argument fails when Arsenal distributes extensions to the likes of David Luiz and Cedric. Ozil isn’t doing enough to play a second, but is Luiz playing well enough to get a new deal?
I don’t see him as Arteta standing with a big name, I look at him as confirmation of why he got the job in the first place. A man so happy to get the job he is willing to endure with a lack of ambition.
His title is coach. Isn’t he the man to whom many of Man City attribute credit for having obtained the best? So what happened? From December to March, Ozil was apparently lockable. Now isn’t it suddenly? If Ozil weren’t 350,000,000 a week, would it be captivating? If that’s the problem, Arteta is doing the Arsenal Board’s dirty work and putting it ahead of the best interests of the team.
The Spaniard shouldn’t worry about wages. His job is to work with what he has and get the best out of the resources he has, not to punish someone based on their salary. If the club wants Ozil to leave, it’s their business. Yet from now until the transfer window, Arteta’s job is to get the best out of that resource, not just wash your hands.
If this happened because Ozil wasn’t good enough, then that’s fine, but we know that other below average artists are playing.
If it was a behavioral problem, that’s fine, but until we feel it, we can’t assume it.
What we do know is that Stan Kroenke has ordered wage cuts in the past two years. All parties know if the club would have prevailed, then Ozil would have been sold centuries ago. He and his agent have made it clear that he intends to understand his affair because his family is happy in London, but he does not even approach another employer who pays him his current salary.
Recall that that was the choice of the club, did not make him offer such a sum. If your boss wanted to pay you too much, you would sign that contract or say “I really don’t think you realize I’m not so good at my job.”
We bet on paying the odds based on the Champions League revenue and soon regretted how many zeros we put on the deal. This does not give the Arsenal Council the right to disrespect him. It would be like a bar that fails, so you start choosing your highest earnings. It is not the employee’s fault that those responsible lose money.
So now Arteta is doing her dirty job.
He is not carrying it out.
Not putting him in the team.
Don’t give a detailed reason what the problem is.
So have the audacity to talk about club values.
This is not the “via dell’Arsenale”. We don’t treat someone like a scapegoat.
Fans are taught that this guy has done something wrong, yet when a player wants to leave or doesn’t want to honor a contract, we call him every name in the book. Van Persie, Fabregas and Sanchez are hated for NOT doing what Ozil did – entrusting us with his future.
When it suits us, it’s okay for us not to be loyal. We leave someone to rot and hope that he is so fed up that he accepts a departure. Not because we have someone better in his position, and not because we intend to replace him, but so our owners can save money.
Wenger is gone, we saved wages by making someone worse. We didn’t want to offer Ramsey a new deal, saved money and now we don’t have a goal. Koscielny is gone, we got his salary off the bill and now we have a worse defense.
See what happens when Ozil leaves. If it’s 0-0 in the FA Cup semi-final and you can have a man in the last third, who do you trust most to unlock a defense with a killer pass? Willock? Ceballos? Nelson? Or the man who gets frozen?
How are you putting the team first?
Dan Smith
