Doesn’t bother me if Arsenal are now financially doped with a multi-billionaire owner. Does it bother anyone? If it does, my guess would be Decaf. But like Hazuki (apologies in advance if I misunderstood his post 517126), I would hope he’ll find reasons for it.

Hazuki, he kept him off going on furlough. That's saving the job he had and still has since 1993.

Nothing like a bit $5B PR a Al Kroenke.....sorry can't help it.

SoFi Stadium cost more than $5 billion of private money to complete — a staggering total that's difficult to put into perspective. If Rams owner Stan Kroenke gave $15 to every citizen in the United States, it still wouldn't quite add up to the amount he shelled out for SoFi Stadium.

First of all there are numerous countries where I certainly would not relocate to because they are not handling the crisis well or they cannot provide adequate health care if you do get it.

So you would rather pay him and have him in the background than just moving on. It’s like a divorce - pay them out and move on. Of course you run the risk they will go somewhere else and may be successful. Or as we are you just see out the contract.

Özil excluded from Arsenal’s Europa League squad. We all must have realised that was going to happen.

Amy Lawrence says the premier league to follow. Not sure how that works.

Didn’t Rich say that following the transfer window we now have two more players than are allowed for the Premier League squad? Is so, I’m expecting the same two players to lose their places in the Premier League squad.

Who was the other player ? Sokratis ?

I’d have to double check again following the late moves. I think I read we needed to remove 3 to add 1. And signed runarsson and partey and only got rid of Guendouzi and torreira so it still leaves two not to be registered. Not being registered for europa is one thing but also not being registered for the league is huge

Yes, Özil and Sokratis.

Yes, we have 19 non-homegrown, non-U21 players, and can only register 17. Guendouzi still counts as U21 but loaning out Torreira freed up a spot. Not sure why Sokratis didn't push more to get a move, he must've known he was at risk of not being registered?

Let us have different opinions on fake football. On Özil, Arteta has chosen to leave him completely idle on match days, not the other way around. That is his preogative, but with it goes the responsibility for not playing a highly salaried and very creative player. The club seem happy enough to back the manager on this, so fair enough. What I find silly is some fans blaming Özil for not doing what they want him to do - leave before his contract is up. Özil is being lambasted for his high earnings, but when he signed his last contract he was the nearest thing we had to a galactico. Shortly after his deal the club sealed lucrative sponsorships, his shirts sold in immense numbers around the world and his social media presence is in big numbers. Make no mistake Arsenal have done very well out of Özil the brand.

I'm not one of those who begrudge him his high wages - at the time he signed the contract he'd earned it as far as I'm concerned. The point I'm making is that his willingness to just sit out his contract - and at this point there's no doubt he knows he won't get picked for games - is a huge indication to me that Arteta is making the right call, because it's indicative of a mentality we don't need in the squad we're trying to build.

We need players who are prepared to fight and give their all for Arsenal to be successful, not players who are content with just collecting their wages. The fact that Özil didn't push for a move knowing he's not in the manager's plans puts him in the latter category in my opinion.

Makes sense

450k a week being paid to players who will never play. That’s a major new signing every year.

I’ve seen lots of Özil arguments on various platforms, but the fundamental thing for me is he’s really quite simply not been any good when he’s been picked and his style doesn’t suit the current manager’s tactics and formation.
You would assume there has been ample opportunity for him to adapt to Arteta’s plans and tactics and he hasn’t done enough to be considered.
Of course we know virtually zero of what happens on the training ground but we see what happens on matchday and it is clear that Özil doesn’t fit the profile of an Arteta player

Özil has talent, skills, technique and can be made fit. So the only piece.missing is mentality of some kind of protest. Maybe hes giving a big FU to someone at the club but I think he's just a mental weakling who has given up.

Saka starts, first of many many caps hopefully. England v Wales friendly ko 8pm on ITV tonight.

So. Fans back at the Emirates. Well, sort of.

https://www.skysports.com/share/12099410

I agree Soc. Let's hope he (and Mané, who is admirable) recover soon and fully.

I think that is harsh. My take on Özil is that he is just past his best. He seems to have lost that verve and vision, whether he was playing for Germany or us. I'm not sure what it is specifically, and I imagine a lot of it is mental. But I really doubt that it is solely a matter of motivation and character.

I'm very happy with the Partey signing and, if Kroenke uncorked, with that too. Does that make us financially doped? I suppose it would depend on the details.

In fact, if you go back a couple of weeks you'll see I was contesting the anti-Kroenke narrative. Firstly, clearly Arteta has been getting support from the club, and what more would you want from an owner? Chest beating avowals of support or 100% attendance I can do without. Silent Stan is fine by me. Secondly, is there any suggestion that his wealth is ill-gotten?

Speaking for myself--I am really enjoying this season. I think it is because football -- even like this-- feels so normal and right. Springtime means erythrinas blooming, pottering around in the garden, tons of marking, and football on the telly/radio, mostly (admittedly) in the background.

Plus we don't see totally hopeless this season.

Sounds like you're agreeing with me that the problem is mental. Motivation comes into that as well because in his situation it has to be his self motivation to want to do something. So his motivation to play is gone but he prefers to keep getting paid massive wages with no intention of improving or actually doing what's required. That's called a bludger and is 100% aligned with character.

Lastly, if he has legitimate mental health issues then that's a different issue and if so I take my mental weakling comments back.

If Arteta wanted Özil in the team, he’d have the freedom to select him. I’m sure of that. Özil’s comments about the Chinese issue were made in December. Arteta continued playing him until the lockdown stopped football in March, nearly three months later. The other things you mention I just don’t see as relevant as you. As I said, if Arteta wanted Özil in the team I honestly think he’d be able to select him.

I reckon the freezing out of Özil has far more to do with his poor form when Arteta was putting him in the team, and Özil not fitting in with the way Arteta wants the team to play. Pressing the opposition when they have the ball. That just isn’t Özil’s game.

Yes, not fitting the manager's way of playing has to be the reason Özil is in deep freeze - nothing to do with his ability, relationships with the team or mental weakness. Reminds me a lot of Bertie Mee deciding George Eastham's days were over back in 1966. George was nowhere near finished as a player, as his subsequent time at Stoke City proved - the manager simply wanted a different type of footballer. When Özil leaves us it wouldn't surprise me to see him have a productive end to his career at another club. Arteta may have no use for him, but other managers will find a way to take advantage of his sublime skills.

Tierney has nothing to recover from. He has tested negative three times. Amazingly he is also shown to have antibodies (we could all do with some of those).

He has to isolate because he was near someone who did test positive. He/Arsenal dispute that it was close/long enough to be pertinent.

For that alone I'll remember Özil fondly.

But if Arteta has decided he isn’t going to play him for footballing reasons, as you accept, and after the transfer window’s activity Arsenal had to exclude two existing players to meet the squad limits in place, isn’t Özil an obvious choice to be one of the two excluded?

Sorry, I’d call it logic more than ‘power play’.

If anything it’s a power play from Özil who has just downed tools for several years to try and force Arsenal to get fed up and pay off his contract. The player we’ve seen in recent seasons bears no semblance to the one signed in his first year and when you get subbed off in a European final and joe willock comes on and looks instantly better you have to take a serious look at yourself.

The press said this week Arsenal have made several offers to him to settle his contract but he’s holding out for a complete settlement despite the fact he could get a huge pay off for doing nothing AND agree a new contract elsewhere.

The debate about Özil has become so boring he can’t go soon enough and the club have been absolutely right to drop him in the recent squads

He’s not a class player, maybe once but no more. What about when he stunk out a European final and a youth player came on and looked like Messi compared to him.

Every single one of them did better even Iwobi

Seriously, what hurt as Özil inflicted upon Arsenal? He has not made himself unavailable to play nor has he publicly trashed the club or manager. He is abiding by his contract. We should accept the situation for what it is without blaming him - the manager does not want him in the team, and that is the sum of it.

I think it's a bit sad that it comes to this. There's no doubt Özil is an immense football talent; I'm going to go out on a limb and say he has possibly the best final pass of any Arsenal player I've ever seen (and bear in mind that's roughly from 1995 and onwards). There's Bergkamp of course, but as much as his highlight reel assists are a joy to watch, Özil was to my mind more consistent in that regard. Henry was an underrated passer, but still obviously more of a goalscorer. Cesc was a brilliant playmaker at his best. But the sheer consistency with which Özil delivered the final pass, always accurate, always perfectly weighted, was something special.

But there's now been basically two full seasons where he hasn't really produced anything noteworthy on the football pitch. And this season he's probably not going to play a single game if this keeps up. That's three wasted years, and he's not even that old; turning 32 next week. It's just such a waste.

Would that be a settlement like 40m + 1. The club are not known for financial astuteness. Pay the whole lot. Would love to know what they were willing to offer in after tax money. Anything the club says I would need to see the actual evidence before even thinking to accept it as fact. But there are plenty of people who will believe anything whether it relates to the club or COVID.

Yep. Singling out one match to try to score a killer point about a player's uselessness is - generally - the last refuge of the simpleton. TG is right, though, about Özil being dropped in recent squads. In which match he's played in the last 12 months have you thought, 'Now that's why we pay him 350,000 a week'? As for his political views, if he was still conjuring up 19 assists a season, I suspect Arteta wouldn't mind if he replaced the 'Visit Rwanda' logo with 'Erdogan Rules'.

Your post got me thinking about the ten most skilful players I’ve seen play for the club. Not the best tacklers (such as Adams), strongest in the air (possibly Radford), the quickest (like Henry), the most productive (including Vieira) or consistent (maybe Armstrong). But purely the most talented in terms of skill on the ball including control and passing ability.

Names that spring to mind immediately, in alphabetical order, are Arshavin, Bergkamp, Brady, Fabregas, George, Hudson, Marinello, Özil, Pires, Rocastle. Yet how do Ball and Limpar not get in? Or Henry, in my view the club’s greatest player? Sanchez, Wilshere, Cazorla and Nasri not quite there. Or Bentley. It’s all opinion anyway. I saw Hoddle and Gascoigne play for Arsenal in Merson’s testimonial but not competitively, otherwise they’d get in. Hoddle definitely.

Özil a better creative player than Bergkamp or Fabregas

No way

There's more to creativity than the final pass though. Both Bergkamp and Fabregas had qualities that Özil lacks, but if I'm strapped to an electric chair with my life depending on the result of a match and an Arsenal player is in a good position to score, I'd probably pick Özil to deliver the pass. There's not much in it, but his consistency in playing that final ball just right really was marvelous.

I'm reading a few reports that the 2 wingers we got after the close of the transfer window may be the steal of the window. Fingers crossed.