Arsenal have chosen Mesut Ozil over Alexis Sanchez
Arsenal are offering Mesut Ozil a ridiculous new contract
It didn’t take long for Arsenal to react to the recent drama surrounding their relationship with Alexis Sanchez. The Gunners have clearly shifted their focus to locking Mesut Ozil up to a long-term deal.
Reports from England claim that Arsenal have offered Ozil a new contract that would pay him up to £280 thousand per week. That would double his current salary with the club. Shockingly, it seems that Ozil is still holding out for more money. He believes he can procure a larger wage packet elsewhere.
Their decision to offer Ozil such a large deal sends a clear message to Alexis and his representatives. Before the Chilean attacker become embroiled in a training ground bust-up with teammates, all signs pointed towards Arsenal trying to keep him ahead of his German counterpart.
No one can blame the higher-ups with the Gunners for changing their minds. Ozil hasn’t been a model citizen lately, but he hasn’t been nearly as much trouble as Alexis. The biggest trouble Ozil causes the club is his propensity to disappear during big matches.
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Of course, that fault is also a good reason for Arsenal to rethink offering Ozil such a massive new deal. He’s an excellent player, but he isn’t necessarily a world-class star you can build your attack around. Ozil makes life easier on his attacking teammates, but he offers nothing on the defensive end of the pitch. Offering a record-breaking deal to a player who doesn’t play defense or score many goals is a questionable decision at best.
It must be said that the news of Ozil’s contract offer might be a tactic to try to bring Alexis and his representative back to the negotiating table. I doubt it will be enough to really change his demands, but it could be a last, desperate attempt by the Gunners to keep Alexis in the fold.
Next: Arsenal must take a stand with Alexis Sanchez
The most disturbing part of this story is that Ozil still hasn’t accepted the club’s new offer. It seems that Arsenal can’t even lock one of their two best players down when they try to overpay them. The sooner the Gunners decide who their manager is going to be next season, the sooner they can start to build a squad for him.