MX23RW : Friday, May 7 14:55:30| >> :60:2735:2735:

Where did it go wrong for Mesut Ozil at Arsenal?

The controversial star, who was on a club-record weekly wage of £350,000, has left the Emirates Stadium.

Mesut Ozil's Arsenal career is over after the former Germany international's move to Turkish side Fenerbahce was confirmed.

Here, the PA news agency looks at where things went wrong for Ozil at the Emirates Stadium in recent times.

Speaking out on social media

A social media post made my Ozil saw Arsenal distance themselves from his political stance.
A social media post made my Mesut Ozil saw Arsenal distance themselves from his political stance (Nick Potts/PA)

Arsenal decided to distance themselves from comments made by Ozil in an Instagram post on December 13, 2019.

Ozil was speaking out against the perceived persecution of Uighurs in China, calling on Muslims to do more to highlight the situation in Xinjiang.

Given Arsenal have several commercial and business deals in the country, they released a statement on China's leading social media site – Weibo – saying Ozil's view was a "personal opinion" and that the club have the principle of "not involving itself in politics."

Fall in form

Mikel Arteta would be appointed as Arsenal head coach just a week after Ozil's controversial social media post.

The Spaniard had played alongside the former Germany international in his final season as a player at Arsenal and his reign as boss began with Ozil as part of his plans.

He was named in the starting line-up in Arteta's opening 10 Premier League games at the helm, including the 1-0 win over West Ham in March – the last game Arsenal played before the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite that, Ozil only managed one goal and one assist during that spell as Arteta set about implementing his own ideas at the Emirates Stadium.

Pay-cut dispute

Mikel Arteta was instrumental in Arsenal's players agreeing to a pay-cut - but Ozil refused to it.
Mikel Arteta was instrumental in Arsenal's players agreeing to a pay cut – but Ozil refused to do it (John Walton/PA)

With football sidelined by the pandemic, Arsenal moved to ease their financial strains by asking players and staff to agree to a 12.5 per cent pay cut for a 12-month period.

Ozil refused, citing concerns over a lack of clarity as to where the money saved would be used instead.

The cut was reduced to 7.5 percent after the Gunners qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup but Ozil continued to collect his club-record weekly wage of £350,000 until leaving.

Squad omissions

Ozil was an unused substitute for Arsenal's win over Southampton in June - the last time he was involved in a matchday squad
Ozil was an unused substitute for Arsenal's win over Southampton in June – the last time he was involved in a matchday squad (Andrew Matthews/NMC Pool)

Ozil did not play a minute for Arsenal once football returned, with Arteta fielding weekly questions as to why he had opted to drop the playmaker.

Arteta, as well as technical director Edu, stressed it was down to footballing reasons as Ozil was then omitted from both the Premier League and Europa League squads for the first half of the 2020-21 season.

He could have been registered for the remaining league games once January arrived but it was clear his time at Arsenal was coming to an end with something of a whimper.

ID:431940: cacheID:431940:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9236:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Did you know...?
Newcastle United's DeAndre Yedlin pictured in April 2019
Read Next:
DeAndre Yedlin's Newcastle United future 'in doubt'
>

rhs 2.0
Todays Game Header Right
Premier League
La Liga
Bundesliga
Ligue 1
Eredivisie
Primeira Liga
National League South
Belgian Pro League
Russian Premier League
Danish Superliga
Finnish Veikkausliiga
League of Ireland Premier
Belarusian Premier League
Segunda Division
Serie B
2.Bundesliga
Eerste Divisie
Copa Libertadores
Copa Sudamericana
Australian A-League
Premier League 2 - Div 1
Premier League 2 - Div 2
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City34255471244780
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd331910464352967
3Leicester CityLeicester34196961392263
4Chelsea341710753312261
5West Ham UnitedWest Ham341771055441158
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs341681060382256
7Liverpool33159955391654
8Everton33157114542352
9Arsenal34147134637949
10Aston Villa331461348381048
11Leeds UnitedLeeds34145155052-247
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34119143346-1342
13Crystal Palace33108153456-2238
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton34813133539-437
15Southampton33107164159-1837
16Burnley3499163147-1636
17Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3499163656-2036
18Fulham34512172545-2027
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom34511183165-3426
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd3452271860-4217

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!