Topic: Arsenal

[BrandoLFC]

I don't really care, I'm not an Arsenal fan, but this can only be a poor thing for what was at one time a huge rival of ours.  It really goes to show that if you keep compounding errors by making more errors then unless you have endless money like ManU you're going to end up in the shit.  Their revenue is decreasing, they can't increase their payroll due to Premier League rules and have to wait for contracts to end in the summer to sign anyone.  They haven't made a net profit in player sales in 5 years.  They're kind of fucked for the next couple of years without some all-time greats coming out of the youth system or signings similar to us signing Coutinho for £8m.

[ScottishGoon]

I don't really care, I'm not an Arsenal fan, but this can only be a poor thing for what was at one time a huge rival of ours.  It really goes to show that if you keep compounding errors by making more errors then unless you have endless money like ManU you're going to end up in the shit.  Their revenue is decreasing, they can't increase their payroll due to Premier League rules and have to wait for contracts to end in the summer to sign anyone.  They haven't made a net profit in player sales in 5 years.  They're kind of fucked for the next couple of years without some all-time greats coming out of the youth system or signings similar to us signing Coutinho for £8m.

The revenues should go up by £50M or so in the next year as the new Adidas kit deal & new Emirates deal kicks in in the summer. That coupled with getting several high earners off the books (Cech. Lichsteiner, Ramsey, Welbeck Koscielny at the very least looking likely) should free up roughly £500k a week in wages. Both those things combined should give plenty of wiggle room. If they can unload Ozil & Mkhitaryan, you could free up double that.

[newterp]

yes - the ESPN article today basically stated that Emery's comments were not off base - and detailed how Jan 2018 was a mess in terms of the Arsenal books - instead of getting money for Sanchez they got Henrikh and a large contract, re-upped Ozil's contract horribly, and the signed Auba to a huge deal (which is the only thing that worked out).

[Alisson Wonderland]

Cech to retire at the end of the season. Done everything in the game and given 15 years to Arsenal. Top class keeper

Wonder if Arsenal keep him on as coach.

More like 4.

Great goalkeeper but I don't think he ever got back to the standard he had previously set after his head injury.  He has been a shadow of the player since signing for Arsenal.

[Simplexity]

Was not that long ago Arsenal was one of the more well ran clubs around, how quick things can change. They have pretty much done nothing right for years now.

[idontknow]

Was not that long ago Arsenal was one of the more well ran clubs around, how quick things can change. They have pretty much done nothing right for years now.

This is a good point and something we too easily overlook concerning our own progress.
Arsenal, Utd, and Chelsea were well run - independent of how they got their money - for seasons while we were just doing jumble sales.
Under FSG, steadily, slowly, we have become far, far more professional. We get our deals done.
Spurs seem to have problems looming too, and City I don't think are that well run but can just syphon in money for anything they need.

Given Seville's success - comparatively huge success over the last 15 or so years, I imagine they are very well run, and Emery is probably surprised at such a difference considering he's moved to a far bigger club.

Problem is, for all those clubs, it's the people at the top who organize a club's business structure, and if things aren't working, they're the ones who decide what changes to make. Yes, so wonder how that works.

[BrandoLFC]

The revenues should go up by £50M or so in the next year as the new Adidas kit deal & new Emirates deal kicks in in the summer. That coupled with getting several high earners off the books (Cech. Lichsteiner, Ramsey, Welbeck Koscielny at the very least looking likely) should free up roughly £500k a week in wages. Both those things combined should give plenty of wiggle room. If they can unload Ozil & Mkhitaryan, you could free up double that.

I don't think the new deals off-set the loss of CL income so my understanding is they can only replace the wages that is no longer being paid.  Though I could be wrong and if I am could care less.  I would say though that if I was a fan I would be concerned about how any future funds are used.  If the funds available are going to be used on Denis Suarez or a similar type then I can't see how anything would change.

[ScottishGoon]

I don't think the new deals off-set the loss of CL income so my understanding is they can only replace the wages that is no longer being paid.  Though I could be wrong and if I am could care less.  I would say though that if I was a fan I would be concerned about how any future funds are used.  If the funds available are going to be used on Denis Suarez or a similar type then I can't see how anything would change.

I believe its looked at on a year by year basis, so last year's accounts will see the first year for the drop in revenue from being out the Champions League, however next year would be at a similar level in terms of competition revenue but commercial revenue will increase by £50M, so it gives more wiggle room in terms of the wages in the Short Term Cost Control rule.

I don't think it will impact greatly how much we actually spend though, will probably be a similar level to this summer. The main priority for me would be cutting the massive bloat in the wages like I mentioned in my previous post.

I don't know much about Denis Suarez, I've tried to watch clips & things of him, he looks a neat & tidy player, I might be wrong but almost like Coutinho lite but without the shooting capabilities. We obviously need a defender or that but it's not easy to find 1 of decent quality available for loan this window, they might need to wait until the summer unfortunately.

[BrandoLFC]

I believe its looked at on a year by year basis, so last year's accounts will see the first year for the drop in revenue from being out the Champions League, however next year would be at a similar level in terms of competition revenue but commercial revenue will increase by £50M, so it gives more wiggle room in terms of the wages in the Short Term Cost Control rule.

I don't think it will impact greatly how much we actually spend though, will probably be a similar level to this summer. The main priority for me would be cutting the massive bloat in the wages like I mentioned in my previous post.

I don't know much about Denis Suarez, I've tried to watch clips & things of him, he looks a neat & tidy player, I might be wrong but almost like Coutinho lite but without the shooting capabilities. We obviously need a defender or that but it's not easy to find 1 of decent quality available for loan this window, they might need to wait until the summer unfortunately.

Like I said, I don't really know and LFC isn't facing any issues such as this so......

As far as wage bloat, to me it sounds like a manager issue.  If you're hiring a new manager and you just committed major resources to Ozil and Mkhi then whoever you hire better have a plan to play both of them all of the time.  Maybe Emery did this but if he didn't then who's really to blame here?  It's not as if the players are playing badly or downing tools, they just don't fit Emery's plan is what's being said now right?  Though I think that's more true of Ozil than Mhki. 

Now who's going to want to buy them at a commensurate wage when they aren't wanted?  Even if he doesn't want them he should be playing them as a way to shift them on and what a good DoF should be advising.

As far as Suarez, yeah he's nothing like Coutinho.  You'd be joining Everton in the Found Your Level FC brigade in taking on players that were once touted to be the "next big thing" but they're not and yet you paid real funds for them.

[FlashGordon]

He should be playing players he doesn't feel are up to implementing his system in a cut throat league where results are everything? Sounds like a great recipe for staying in the job long term.

[BrandoLFC]

He should be playing players he doesn't feel are up to implementing his system in a cut throat league where results are everything? Sounds like a great recipe for staying in the job long term.

Yes, it should be part of a long term plan that if reasonable expectations are met then everybody keeps moving forward.  It's one thing to decide in certain tactical situations maybe one player is preferred to another.  It's quite another to completely bomb the highest wage earner at your club out of the squad.  You can't say he shouldn't be at least on the bench.  Then you want to buy more players but can't because wages are too high.  But the highest earner is a complete zero who nobody wants to buy to take him off your hands and it's also your own doing?  The whole thing smells like really poor management and decisions.  Either Emery had a plan to use Ozil when he was hired which should put him in jeopardy regardless or Arsenal's management completely fucked up. 

[ScottishGoon]

Like I said, I don't really know and LFC isn't facing any issues such as this so......

As far as wage bloat, to me it sounds like a manager issue.  If you're hiring a new manager and you just committed major resources to Ozil and Mkhi then whoever you hire better have a plan to play both of them all of the time.  Maybe Emery did this but if he didn't then who's really to blame here?  It's not as if the players are playing badly or downing tools, they just don't fit Emery's plan is what's being said now right?  Though I think that's more true of Ozil than Mhki. 

Now who's going to want to buy them at a commensurate wage when they aren't wanted?  Even if he doesn't want them he should be playing them as a way to shift them on and what a good DoF should be advising.

As far as Suarez, yeah he's nothing like Coutinho.  You'd be joining Everton in the Found Your Level FC brigade in taking on players that were once touted to be the "next big thing" but they're not and yet you paid real funds for them.

Mkhitaryan was playing a fair bit, he's been injured the past month or so though. When he has played, he's shown flashes, but he's still more like the Utd Mkhitaryan than the Dortmund 1.

As for Ozil, I'd prefer him in the team, but everyone including a lot  on here think he's a luxury player & not what's needed going forward. I admire Emery for sticking to his guns, even though it might prove to be foolhardy. I suppose it depends on your viewpoint, should the manager plan & pick players to suit a system he'd like to play, or pick a system to suit a player because of economic pressure?

By all accounts, Suarez done well enough at Villarreal to make Barca want to activate the buyback clause, and played well for Sevilla under Emery. For a loan & then reported £15M+ fee if it goes through, for a decent, technical player that the manager knows & knows the manager, I dont think that's a bad deal.

As it happens, I think 2 of Everton better players this season has been the Barca cast offs.

[BrandoLFC]

Mkhitaryan was playing a fair bit, he's been injured the past month or so though. When he has played, he's shown flashes, but he's still more like the Utd Mkhitaryan than the Dortmund 1.

As for Ozil, I'd prefer him in the team, but everyone including a lot  on here think he's a luxury player & not what's needed going forward. I admire Emery for sticking to his guns, even though it might prove to be foolhardy. I suppose it depends on your viewpoint, should the manager plan & pick players to suit a system he'd like to play, or pick a system to suit a player because of economic pressure?

By all accounts, Suarez done well enough at Villarreal to make Barca want to activate the buyback clause, and played well for Sevilla under Emery. For a loan & then reported £15M+ fee if it goes through, for a decent, technical player that the manager knows & knows the manager, I dont think that's a bad deal.

As it happens, I think 2 of Everton better players this season has been the Barca cast offs.

I just have a hard time believing that Gazidis, Raul and Mislintat interviewed Emery and hired him without it being very clear how the "main" players were going to be used and why it would work.  Here we are 6 months later and either his plan he sold Arsenal on to get the job isn't working or it didn't exist.  Ozil isn't playing any differently than he always has so it's not like all of a sudden he got worse. 

Next issue is that Ozil isn't walking away from his contract as no sane person would do that.  You need him to want to leave and get the same pay.  Making it look as if he's too shit even for Arsenal doesn't seem a good way to get PSG, Bayern or any other team that could actually afford to pay him a commensurate wage to want to do so. 

It was a long shot to get top 4 anyway.  What does it matter if you get 5th, 6th or 7th now and would playing Ozil even sub minutes really make that much of a difference?  Game state is a funny thing, Ozil could rack up huge G/A per 90 just adding on to drubbings against bottom teams in the last 15-20 minutes which might make him have value to someone else?  But no lets just kick him to the curb and spend money for nothing.  Seems a real winner.

As far as Suarez/Everton.  What does it say about those players that their one of the better ones for Everton yet they're still a mediocre to bad team?  Nobody better than Everton is going to spend more than Everton did on them, so what did Everton really gain by spending that much?  Suarez played for Emery 4 years ago, he can't even get on the pitch for Barca in what is a pretty dysfunctional midfield.  That £15m should be going to the next Cesc or Guendozi or something that has upside, there's no upside with Suarez at this point.  He is what he is.

[FlashGordon]

No manager is going to accept having a player forced in to his starting 11. It can only go one way from there, I think Ozil should be playing for them but Emery doesn't and that's where it ends. If the big wigs believe in the man they appointed 7 months ago they need to find a solution, if they believe in Ozil they need to get rid of Emery it looks like.

[BrandoLFC]

No manager is going to accept having a player forced in to his starting 11. It can only go one way from there, I think Ozil should be playing for them but Emery doesn't and that's where it ends. If the big wigs believe in the man they appointed 7 months ago they need to find a solution, if they believe in Ozil they need to get rid of Emery it looks like.

No of course not.  But there should be something in between starting every game and not even making that match day squad which is ridiculous whatever your thoughts of the player are.  That's where good management should be stepping in.  This isn't the even 10 years ago where managers had complete autonomy, most don't these days, and it just highlights what is seemingly a bad operation.

[FlashGordon]

No of course not.  But there should be something in between starting every game and not even making that match day squad which is ridiculous whatever your thoughts of the player are.  That's where good management should be stepping in.  This isn't the even 10 years ago where managers had complete autonomy, most don't these days, and it just highlights what is seemingly a bad operation.

Not having complete autonomy on who is signed is one thing but the decision on who plays has to rest with the manager. Now obviously you want everyone going in the same direction or you end up with the same problems we had at the end under Rodgers. Who do Arsenal choose though? I think they'd be wise to side with Emery on this, while holding out the hope that him and Ozil can work things out. It does take two to make it work so maybe both need to make some concessions for the good of them team.

[Kopenhagen]

That Denis Suarez reminds me a little bit like Coutinho, a similar playing style, but without the shooting power. Probably the reason he's £100M cheaper 

He's crap.

[BrandoLFC]

Not having complete autonomy on who is signed is one thing but the decision on who plays has to rest with the manager. Now obviously you want everyone going in the same direction or you end up with the same problems we had at the end under Rodgers. Who do Arsenal choose though? I think they'd be wise to side with Emery on this, while holding out the hope that him and Ozil can work things out. It does take two to make it work so maybe both need to make some concessions for the good of them team.

My concern would be that there are no stories about Ozil kicking up a fuss or having to train on his own or with the U21's due to attitude issues.  So from the outside Ozil is probably just doing the same things he always has and Emery has on his own decided to not only drop him but boot him from the squad.  It's poor man management and I reference management stepping in insofar as this should have been mediated before it ever got to this point.  Same with Pogba and Mourinho.  You can't take the most valuable asset the team has and trashing it, it's retarded.

[blacksun]

My concern would be that there are no stories about Ozil kicking up a fuss or having to train on his own or with the U21's due to attitude issues.  So from the outside Ozil is probably just doing the same things he always has and Emery has on his own decided to not only drop him but boot him from the squad.  It's poor man management and I reference management stepping in insofar as this should have been mediated before it ever got to this point.  Same with Pogba and Mourinho.  You can't take the most valuable asset the team has and trashing it, it's retarded.

Except its your opinion he's the most valuable asset, clearly Emery doesn't agree and hes the manager/coach so his opinion is all that matters. If management step in it should be to find someone to take Ozil off their hands so the money they are paying him isn't being wasted.

[BrandoLFC]

Except its your opinion he's the most valuable asset, clearly Emery doesn't agree and hes the manager/coach so his opinion is all that matters. If management step in it should be to find someone to take Ozil off their hands so the money they are paying him isn't being wasted.

He's the most valuable asset as the club value him that way ie. they pay him the most.  Same as anything else in life.  Now maybe he doesn't deserve it but that's a whole different story.  And Emery's opinion shouldn't be all that matters as nobody should have carte blanch over a £400m business they didn't build themselves.  Emery has never solely been responsible for transfers in his entire career, now without any examples of why he would succeed his opinion should matter the most?

Find someone to pay Ozil enough to leave?  Who would do that when he can't even help a club get into the Europa league?  Just think about this in regards to your line of work and you'll see the ridiculousness of it.

[blacksun]

He's the most valuable asset as the club value him that way ie. they pay him the most.  Same as anything else in life.  Now maybe he doesn't deserve it but that's a whole different story.  And Emery's opinion shouldn't be all that matters as nobody should have carte blanch over a £400m business they didn't build themselves.  Emery has never solely been responsible for transfers in his entire career, now without any examples of why he would succeed his opinion should matter the most?

Find someone to pay Ozil enough to leave?  Who would do that when he can't even help a club get into the Europa league?  Just think about this in regards to your line of work and you'll see the ridiculousness of it.

OK I will put this in terms that maybe will make sense to you.

Klopp is made manager of Liverpool
Balotelli is still here and is being paid 200K a week
Balotelli is never going to be a player that works in Klopps team

By your argument Klopp should make it work because Balotelli is paid a lot of money

Do you think we sit top of the league ahead of the most expensively assembled squad in the history of the game with Balotelli up front?

Also the argument that Ozil is the most valuable asset is flawed, being paid the most doesn't make him a valuable asset, in fact the opposite is true, he's a liability because its going to cost Arsenal a fortune to get him off the books. 
An asset is a thing of value to its owner, Ozil has no value to Arse as Emery doesn't want to use him and everyone knows that and they cant sell him because his wages are nuts.

[BrandoLFC]

OK I will put this in terms that maybe will make sense to you.

Klopp is made manager of Liverpool
Balotelli is still here and is being paid 200K a week
Balotelli is never going to be a player that works in Klopps team

By your argument Klopp should make it work because Balotelli is paid a lot of money

Do you think we sit top of the league ahead of the most expensively assembled squad in the history of the game with Balotelli up front?

It's really a pretty poor argument you're making. 

If you believe Balotelli is worth £200k per week then either A) you're hiring a manager who agrees with you with a plan to get the most out of your investment or B) the manager you hired has convinced you he won't work and needs to be moved on, you then move him on immediately.  Not after you've sat him on the bench or in the stands for a whole season tanking his value to where you're paying his wages even if he's playing elsewhere.

How's that for you?

[blacksun]

It's really a pretty poor argument you're making. 

If you believe Balotelli is worth £200k per week then either A) you're hiring a manager who agrees with you with a plan to get the most out of your investment or B) the manager you hired has convinced you he won't work and needs to be moved on, you then move him on immediately.  Not after you've sat him on the bench or in the stands for a whole season tanking his value to where you're paying his wages even if he's playing elsewhere.

How's that for you?

I've been saying B all along the problem is getting him off the books because the board made a terrible decision before Emery arrived giving Ozil a wage nobody else on the planet will give him.

OK, maybe a crazy Chinese team will but is Ozil going to go for that. Hence why not even including him in the squad to show he he really isnt wanted.

[BrandoLFC]

I've been saying B all along the problem is getting him off the books because the board made a terrible decision before Emery arrived giving Ozil a wage nobody else on the planet will give him.

OK, maybe a crazy Chinese team will but is Ozil going to go for that. Hence why not even including him in the squad to show he he really isnt wanted.

But there's no offer that he's refusing to take.  So sitting him in the stands does what?  Again from all reports out there he's not kicking up a fuss, has always been a model professional and from a stat perspective is the most creative player in the league the last 5 years.  Why is it his fault and why should he walk away from £20m a year?  I wouldn't and neither should he.  So unless something changes you have a coach that is sitting that player in the stands because he's a stubborn asshole and not figuring out a way to make it work while also tanking his value.  I would fire Emery come the summer if nothing changes.

[blacksun]

But there's no offer that he's refusing to take.  So sitting him in the stands does what?  Again from all reports out there he's not kicking up a fuss, has always been a model professional and from a stat perspective is the most creative player in the league the last 5 years.  Why is it his fault and why should he walk away from £20m a year?  I wouldn't and neither should he.  So unless something changes you have a coach that is sitting that player in the stands because he's a stubborn asshole and not figuring out a way to make it work while also tanking his value.  I would fire Emery come the summer if nothing changes.

Hahaha fire Emery because he doesn't want a lazy player in his team . Like I said if it was Klopp and Balotelli?

[ScottishGoon]

I just have a hard time believing that Gazidis, Raul and Mislintat interviewed Emery and hired him without it being very clear how the "main" players were going to be used and why it would work.  Here we are 6 months later and either his plan he sold Arsenal on to get the job isn't working or it didn't exist.  Ozil isn't playing any differently than he always has so it's not like all of a sudden he got worse. 

Next issue is that Ozil isn't walking away from his contract as no sane person would do that.  You need him to want to leave and get the same pay.  Making it look as if he's too shit even for Arsenal doesn't seem a good way to get PSG, Bayern or any other team that could actually afford to pay him a commensurate wage to want to do so. 

It was a long shot to get top 4 anyway.  What does it matter if you get 5th, 6th or 7th now and would playing Ozil even sub minutes really make that much of a difference?  Game state is a funny thing, Ozil could rack up huge G/A per 90 just adding on to drubbings against bottom teams in the last 15-20 minutes which might make him have value to someone else?  But no lets just kick him to the curb and spend money for nothing.  Seems a real winner.

As far as Suarez/Everton.  What does it say about those players that their one of the better ones for Everton yet they're still a mediocre to bad team?  Nobody better than Everton is going to spend more than Everton did on them, so what did Everton really gain by spending that much?  Suarez played for Emery 4 years ago, he can't even get on the pitch for Barca in what is a pretty dysfunctional midfield.  That £15m should be going to the next Cesc or Guendozi or something that has upside, there's no upside with Suarez at this point.  He is what he is.

Theres no doubt the whole Ozil / Sanchez situation has been poor management, there's no 1 arguing about that. However, what we've not taken into account is the guys that actually were the main driving force in those decisions are no longer there.

Im sure Gazidas would have been the guy driving those decisions. I'm not sure how much influence Raul and Sven would have had over Ozil decision considering they were just starting, so perhaps they actually agree with Emery. They were certainly quick to withdraw the contract that had been agreed with Ramsey as soon as Gazidas left, which suggests he had the power until he departed.
I think the amount of change in a short space of time is the problem driving the Minsilat issue as well. The main power & decision maker behind them has left within a few months of them joining leaving a bit of a power vacuum that people are jostling to get their place. It seems Raul wins over Sven, hence his nose being out of joint.

As for Suarez, the manager must see something in him that would be useful for the team, and he certainly knows him more than most. You would imagine playing well enough at Villarreal & Sevilla that made Barca want to exercise their buyback option in the first place shows he must have something about him. I wouldn't judge him on not being able to get into the current Barca team when guys like Coutinho, Dembele & Malcom are struggling to impose themselves as well. The reality for us is that if he was getting significant minutes in the Barca midfield, that we wouldn't have a chance of getting him. You might well be right though, time will tell if the move goes through.

[FlashGordon]

But there's no offer that he's refusing to take.  So sitting him in the stands does what?  Again from all reports out there he's not kicking up a fuss, has always been a model professional and from a stat perspective is the most creative player in the league the last 5 years.  Why is it his fault and why should he walk away from £20m a year?  I wouldn't and neither should he.  So unless something changes you have a coach that is sitting that player in the stands because he's a stubborn asshole and not figuring out a way to make it work while also tanking his value. I would fire Emery come the summer if nothing changes.

I'm sorry but this is just insane.

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

He's crap.

Was a proper arsehole against us in the Europa League semi final a few years back. He also properly shit the bed at Anfield.

[ScottishGoon]

Was a proper arsehole against us in the Europa League semi final a few years back. He also properly shit the bed at Anfield.

He's already got the makings of an Arsenal player then! 

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

He's already got the makings of an Arsenal player then! 

 

[RedForeverTT]

Ozil's situation with Arsenal is a bit like Lazar's situation with us.

Nobody put a gun to the head of the club to offer that sort of crazy contract so why should the player be forced to walk away?

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

Ozil's situation with Arsenal is a bit like Lazar's situation with us.

Nobody put a gun to the head of the club to offer that sort of crazy contract so why should the player be forced to walk away?

I wouldn't really compare them given that Ozil has only been out of the team for 3 months, whereas Markovic has been out for 4 years. Ozil is within his rights to think that his playing fortunes might change, plus his manager has said that he is still in his plans. Markovic on the other hand knows that he won't be playing.

You cannot blame Lazar for not walking away, but you certainly cannot respect him either. A footballer and a good human being should want to play football first and get paid a lot more than he should second.

[Dim Glas]

Sorry for going over old ground, but I don't remember what the story is here with Özil and Emery - but what caused the fall-out? Is it just a case of Emery not thinking he fits in the team, or was there some argument?

Anyway, way I see it is that, on a short term basis he's cutting off his nose to spite his face if he's NOT playing him if he's fit, cos it's not like the team is blessed with quality depth to replace players. 

But put the wages aside for a moment, it's like with most new managers, you have to work with what you have initially. Like here Kloppo worked with players short term that where not to have any future under him, Benteke being an example of a 'name' player.

But Emery is also very much within his rights to say to the sporting director / whatever it is Arsenal have, that long term Özil isn't suitable for his team. It's not his fault the previous regime gave him such a ridiculous contract. And if they seriously want to build under Emery, then they have to go all in.

[rafathegaffa83]

There have been stories of a fallout between the pair since August. Didn't Emery also question Özil's ability to play an intense game when he dropped him in November? (might have been when they played Bournemouth)

[Ashburton]

There have been stories of a fallout between the pair since August. Didn't Emery also question Özil's ability to play an intense game when he dropped him in November? (might have been when they played Bournemouth)

Think he came out with a line saying they wanted to play with a certain level of intensity and he obviously didn't rate Ozil as providing that.  Since then, Ozil has played a few games with a higher level then regressed to not busting a gut - which Emery seems to want.  He's a very intense guy in general and can see why he rubs players up the wrong way sometimes because nobody likes being told you 'aren't good enough unless you do x'. He seems like more of an obsessive authoritarian and in many ways a contrast to Wenger, which is probably why the squad will need a couple of seasons of upset whilst players are filtered out.

At a larger club level however, Ozil is on an absolutely massive contract and he represents 2-3 new players coming in to the first XI.  I wouldn't be surprised if he talked to the board and they said 'there's no money, you can loan players, but nobody until summer' and pointed at Ozil's huge contract costs as a reason why they have taken this view.   Not unreasonably, he's thinking the club needs more reinforcements than the occasional brilliance Ozil can provide to win games, so it's either shift Ozil or accept his style of play isn't going to work and switch back to a passive 4-2-3-1 formation the club has been using for a few years.

For the club to go forward it has to back Emery even if it's painful in the short term - giving Ozil that contract was a move of desperation in fear of antagonising the fans in a season Sanchez left the club.  There was a real risk that the club wouldn't have any 'elite' talent remaining.

[Dim Glas]

Thanks for the explanations Ashburton and Rafa

Seems a bit daft to me then if he's fit, not to even have him in the squad. I get the coach wants intensity, so if a player can't give that for 90 mins, have him sat on the bench available for the last 20 mins or whatever.

Unless Özil is acting the complete dick like Sakho did at Liverpool for instance, I'm not sure ostracizing him is particularly helpful! Arsenal have a good shot at the Europa, and are not out of the top 4 race. As infuriating as he is as a player, he can still benefit the team greatly over the season.

[BrandoLFC]

Maybe I'm being a bit over the top in what I'm saying but I also think those that are disputing it are being a bit naive.  Emery had to have a plan to use Ozil when the season started, there's no way he didn't sell Arsenal on how all the pieces would fit together.  Otherwise you're saying that he told Arsenal that he couldn't work with Ozil and they hired him anyway?  Ozil hasn't played poorly in relation to how he always plays and the player he is.  So it looks to me as if the manager, whose task is to maximize the potential of the squad in order to win games, has decided very shortly after being hired that his plan can't work but instead of adjusting his plan to figure out a way to make it work is just throwing away a club asset.  I'd also question if I was running the club if I would then trust the manager with further purchases as it seems if they don't conform 100% with what he wants they're going to be a complete waste and probably a total loss to the club.

Balotelli is a bad example.  Pogba is probably the best one as Mourinho even wanted him and in the end decided he was shit.  Well he's not shit, maybe not worth what was paid, and you can't just trash something that is costing your club a shit load of money.  You're just cutting off your nose to spite your face at that point.

Now if it comes out that Ozil is preventing the manager from getting his methods across by being an asshole and messing with squad harmony, sure you need to get him out of there.  From what I've read those he's not that type of person and Ozil himself isn't doing anything wrong other than just being himself.

[newterp]

They are back in the Europa League next month - I expect Ozil will be used there to help with rotation and because his game may be more suited for the EL now.

[Skeeve]

Yes, it should be part of a long term plan that if reasonable expectations are met then everybody keeps moving forward.  It's one thing to decide in certain tactical situations maybe one player is preferred to another.  It's quite another to completely bomb the highest wage earner at your club out of the squad.  You can't say he shouldn't be at least on the bench.  Then you want to buy more players but can't because wages are too high.  But the highest earner is a complete zero who nobody wants to buy to take him off your hands and it's also your own doing?  The whole thing smells like really poor management and decisions.  Either Emery had a plan to use Ozil when he was hired which should put him in jeopardy regardless or Arsenal's management completely fucked up.

I think the argument about Ozil is more about whether he should be starting or not, if the manager doesn't think he should be then it is completely reasonable to leave him off the bench because you want players on there in case of injuries or is you are not winning and wanting a player to come on in a tough situation to change the game for you and realistically would you trust Ozil to do that?

[BrandoLFC]

I think the argument about Ozil is more about whether he should be starting or not, if the manager doesn't think he should be then it is completely reasonable to leave him off the bench because you want players on there in case of injuries or is you are not winning and wanting a player to come on in a tough situation to change the game for you and realistically would you trust Ozil to do that?

In a lot of ways Ozil is still one of their best players.  If they need a goal, like they did vs. West Ham last weekend, then bringing on Ozil is probably the best thing they actually could do.  Odds are he'll create one for you.  Having teenagers with 1 PL appearance on the bench instead of Ozil seems less than ideal?  I don't know.