Mesut Ozil could be sold this summer
Mesut Ozil has been partially frozen out of the starting XI by Unai Emery in the recent few games. Emery aspires to play the game with high intensity and for this particular tactic to be successful, all the players must press high up the pitch. Even if one of the players is slow in doing so, the whole strategy is rendered toothless.
To that end, it is evident that Ozil doesn’t play with enough intensity and his slowness and unwillingness to contribute when it comes to closing the opposition down has made him a liability. As a result, it has hurt Arsenal’s ability to keep things compact in the middle of the park, making them vulnerable to counters.
While many of the Arsenal fans want to see the back of the German playmaker and are frustrated by his lack of defensive contribution, it would make more sense to avoid selling him in January. Many clubs often put up a facade of being well with the player to inflate the price but the fact that Emery hasn’t done that yet may end up diminishing the former Real Madrid player’s price tag when the time actually arrives for his departure.
While it may turn out to be a good decision to let someone with a salary as high as Ozil’s leave, it should be pointed out that Emery has done little to ensure he gets exactly what Ozil is worth. In fact, that could be a naive step on the part of the 47-year-old.
Ozil won’t have many top suitors since not many clubs can afford £350,000-a-week wages but he certainly seems to have it in him to excel at another club. Selling him for a lesser amount than expected may come to haunt Arsenal, especially when they need a lot of reinforcements in all the areas.
Ozil has a deal which lasts till 2021 which was handed to him to prevent him from following in the footsteps of Alexis Sanchez. He seems content at Arsenal and Unai Emery must do everything he can to avoid conflicts and maintain a balance between keeping Ozil satisfied with game time here and there without hurting the chances of the team. Once the summer transfer window opens, the club can sort out the situation and sell the player for what he is worth.
