Arsenal will reluctantly listen to offers for Mesut Özil next summer if he does not lower his astronomical wage demands.
Both Özil and Alexis Sánchez only have 18 months remaining on their contracts, and Arsenal are still hopeful of striking an agreement with the star duo.
Chelsea are the latest club to join the queue of interested parties monitoring the situation of Sánchez, but it is Özil who is currently thought to be more expendable if Arsenal are forced to consider cashing in.
Put another way, “OK Arsenal, if you think you can go around winning a Champs League group and scoring goals all over the place, just you wait to see what stories we come up with tomorrow even if the headline is contradicted by the paragraph below it.”
“Some sources claim Özil and Sánchez want £20million-a-year, £384,000-a-week, to re-sign with the Gunners and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has appealed for them not to let money decide their futures.”
This is the exact opposite of what the Guardian said just one day before when it quoted what Mr Wenger said in a press statement, “Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal’s hopes of securing Alexis Sánchez to a new long‑term contract will depend more upon convincing the forward of the “values” and ambition of the club than the financial package on the table.”
Things have come to a pretty pass when newspapers can’t even agree with each other what stories to make up.
The point of course is that just as the Leicester Mercury can make a claim and then utterly fail to live up to it by providing evidence or facts, or preferably both, so can the Telegraph as with…
Neither Özil nor Sánchez would be prepared to earn less than the other at the Emirates. Arsenal could afford to pay £15m-a-year, £288,000-a-week, to one of them but it is unlikely they would sanction such a big contract for both men.
No evidence of course. But anyway we can always read on in the story and find a contradiction, as with the fact that Alexis “became frustrated with life at Arsenal last season, but his attitude has markedly improved this term and he appears happier.”
And this is really what it all comes down to. “Appears”. And “appears” is not evidence, nor a source of information. “The man standing 10 yards away from me appears to be two inches tall” is about as helpful although it does make an apposite comment on the lack of perspective in these stories.
[For Telegraph readers let me explain: perspective has two meanings – putting things in context, and the fact that objects at a distance appear to be a lot smaller than they really are. OK? Good.]
Indeed it becomes even more bizarre as the Telegraph, having given us the doom, the gloom and quite probably several other words ending in “oom” which I currently can’t think of, then adds
Özil has also insisted he is happy at the Emirates, but fluttered his eyelids towards his former club Real in an interview in Spain that was published last week.
In fact this is the total and entire source of the Özil rumours – his statement that, “I am very happy playing in such a big club like Arsenal, which has amazing fans and they also encourage me a lot. I am playing very well in London, but in football you never know… We’ll see what happens in the future.”
There is one other footnote to this. The Telegraph then quote Ray Wilkins. Now Ray Wilkins currently has very serious personal problems for which he is, I am delighted to say, seeking the proper help and support, and at the moment he should be allowed to get himself back together in peace and quiet. So for the Telegraph then to say, “Former England midfielder Ray Wilkins believes Arsenal should keep Wilshere and let Özil go, saying: “I’d have Sánchez all day long. I’d bring Jack Wilshere back and let Özil go”,” really isn’t helpful to Mr Wilkins in particular, nor indeed to Telegraph readers in general.
So there we have the non-stories from the last transfer window and the next. That is not everything but I think the tales of Draxler, Bazoer, Pulisic and others should be left for another day.
But let me send you away smiling.
Sánchez ready to play hardball after Chinese offer £400,000 a week
According to the report, an unnamed Chinese Super League club is ready to offer Sánchez, 27, an eye-watering £400,000 a week deal – a massive £270,000 a week increase – that would see the Chilean earn over £20 million a year.
Sweet isn’t it.
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It looks like the squad is growing
In my opinion while this site publishes this photo of Arsene it is no different from those it points its accusing finger at.
Well Tony ,them journos could always put a positive spin to your comment that, .. “99% of a football rumours in the Daily Telegraph last summer were found to be false”, by claiming that they got at least 1% right anyway !
One day there will be no more journalists , as their need (?) is extinguished and their profession go the way of the dinosaurs . Shall we miss them ?
If we are really serious in moving forward and being ambitious we have to pay them the going rate. They are world class talents and they deserve the same as otherwworld class talent. Other clubs will pay it.
Gazidis knows there will be meltdown if they are not signed up. We have the money so we should give them a good deal
Lastly, who is our manager next season ? That uncertainty may be a factor as well.
I’m pretty certain that AW confirmed we’d put a bid in for Vardy at his ‘buy out’ price.
But I get the impression we didn’t fight to hard on his ‘personal terms’ to get him.
The Mail is reporting that Arsene is saying that they will be held to their contracts no matter what.
“These players have 18 months on their contracts and, no matter what happens, they will stay for 18 months. Hopefully they’ll stay for longer than that.”
I’ve been reading The Telegraph quite a bit lately due to the improved interface and they’re really ramping this up, but never reveal the origins of the stories. The best we get is today’s “Some sources claim…..
Colario. True it’s not the most flattering photo, but I’ve seen many worse. I mean Arsene with a glass of wine in his hand is OK with me
Although there is the chance that we could lose Alexis and Ozil (hopefully not!), I can’t see either of them considering going to China for a few years yet as they both want to play top level football more than top up their pensions.
Give it 5-10 years and then Chinese money may become more important to them.
Xhaka – I suspect the club know exactly who will be in charge, and the agent will have been told in each case.
I never read an article without a quote because the quote is the source of the story. The quoter’s credentials are then examined before attaching any validity to the story. These days the actual sales of newspapers are on the decline with the key stats being number of clicks and bounce rate. All journos and a lot of bloggers (not this one) write trash to increase website traffic- these days, the new ploy is to put the club name, omit the players name and let intrigue bring the traffic in.
I read a piece in Eurosport that chose to focus not on the win in Basel (that Man Utd, Chelsea, and Liverpool failed to achieve) but on Wenger’s 200th CL game and the absence of a CL trophy. One finals, and 2 semis as they put it. It is all about perspective I imagine- there aren’t many managers to make it to 200- how come? why haven’t the successful ones not gotten that far- the odd sacking, parting of ways, contract end and rebuilding from scratch again?
TalkSport derided Arsenal for spending 9 years in fourth recently but they ignore that 14 to 16 top flight clubs would trade that record in an instant for all they have to show for the last 9 years.
All with a pinch of salt in my opinion.
If we put ourselves into the positions of Ozil & Sanchez in their ongoing contracts negotiations at Arsenal, would we chose to stay at Arsenal solely for being happy there at the expense of earning bigger money elsewhere where being happy there has not been predetermined?
As we all know very well, top top players are found of the habit of wanting to earn mega wages during their top performance stages in their career to guarantee a secured good living after hanging off their boots.
I think the buying of Paul Pogba by Man Utd at that ultra overpriced money and at that very high wage bill for him has become a yardstick for top players like Ozil & Sanchez to consider in their hearts when negotiating in their ongoing contracts extensions at Arsenal.
Le Prof needs to be highly diligent processionally in handling these 2 cases. Because Man Utd have already caused a high wage payment problem for us with their recent purchase of Paul Pogba. I should think.
By the way, what is the weekly wages Le Prof is earning at Arsenal? The rumours were heard saying, he earns around £150k/week. But no one can attest to this since it’s not officially made known by Arsenal. But it’s been touted in some quarters that Arsenal have a wage structure in place whereby no Arsenal player is allowed to earned more than Le Prof. I consider this action to be normal because it will be insulting to Le Prof if any of his players earn more than him as Arsenal are not Barcelona FC where some players there are said to be earning way far ahead than the club manager is earning.
If we want to keep Ozil and Sanchez beyond their current contract due dates, and they won’t back down to earn lower than Le Prof earns, it has then become imperative Arsenal review significantly upwards their current wage structure at the club. An upward review that can accommodate higher wages for Le Prof, Players and other staff at the club may become necessary for Arsenal to undertake. But can Ozil & Sanchez accept big match bonuses which will be equivalent to the bigger wages they’ve asking for which Arsenal can afford to award them?
At the end if this saga, if it’s turned out that Arsenal can’t afford what the duo are asking for, the wise thing then will of course be to sell then to the highest bidder in the summer, but not to our direct rivals. I think selling them to a rich Chinese club who can afford to pay our asking price for them is more the appropriate thing Arsenal should do in the summer.
The so-called press have an endless list that is prepared.
Once the Ozil/Sanchez thing is done, they’ll pretend the same for Ramsey, Kos, Giroud, the gardner, the toilet attendant….
Just makes me laugh
Keep on reading UA, it brings a little sanity
The “fluttered his eyelids towards” quote about Ozil is weak innuendo. Sports journalists reporting on serious issues are using cliches from the pages of romance novels to hide the fact that they haven’t done any actual journalism.
Last season Ozil and Alexis both made interesting critiques about the club’s ambition. The subtext I’m getting from Wenger’s few recent comments is that what we did (late) in the summer helped, they’ve both responded by taking more responsibility on the pitch, and the next stage is not about cash but convincing them the club is going places whether Arsene stays or goes. I have a sneaky feeling that Wenger’s more relaxed demeanour this year is linked his two players wanting him to stick around a while longer.
And as Tony suggests above, no doubt their agents have also been kept informed about a possible managerial transition because it would be insane to offer them both record contracts and then hire a coach who can’t work with the pair or play to their strengths. We know from Alexis’ on-field demeanour that he wants Arsenal playing like Chile, with swift vertical attacks and co-ordinated pressing. More than the salary, convincing them about Arsenal’s next 5 years will be fundamental to their contract renewals.
I was most amused to read the quotes from Wilkins in a Birmingham based newspaper. They introduced him as “ex-Aston Villa Assistant Manager”.
So a bloke who wasn’t even a manager but worked at a club that achieved nothing until their relegation is quoted as a valid analytical source………I had a good chuckle at that one.
Kaius
Do you honestly see any manager not being able to work with a player like Ozil or Sanchez?
Sanchez stating he’s on the same level as Messi and Ronaldo is somewhat interesting when taken in context of contract negotiations.
Also, it’s posible to give them both Pogba money and then sell them on a year or two later at a higher transfer fee than you would otherwise, if they had one year left on their contract.
It will be interesting to see what happens in both cases as neither player has any real attachment to Arsenal.
They didn’t come up through the ranks like RVP or Fabregas, nor did they polish their skills much while under Arsenal employment.
Tom it does sound odd but they were both cut loose from the big 2 in Spain weren’t they? It’s happened before and I don’t think they want to experience that kind of uncertainty again.
Players in their peak 25-29 years don’t need to polish skills anymore. I agree that Alexis set himself a very high benchmark with those comments but it’s a reflection of what he wants from the club – to state it’s ambitions clearly and to execute them. Alexis refining his role as a no.9 and Ozil adding goals to his all-round game are exactly what Wenger requested from them and so far it’s what they’ve delivered.
Alexis and Ozil performance data indicates more of a shift in their roles than any real growth as players. Especially with Ozil , who has 4 goals and 3 assists in the PL this season. Last season in the same number of games Ozil had 11 assist and 2 goal in the PL.
According to Adrian Clarke of Arsenalplayer.com Ozil has had 71% more touches in the penalty area this season, which would explain his higher goal output , but lower assist numbers so it’s a trade off of sorts.
We will see at the end of the season of Arsenal can benefit from this shift or not.
Also , Ozil and Sanchez were ” cut loose” from Batca and Madrid because both clubs felt they were making an upgrade on them with Suarez and Bale.
Do you believe Arsenal are in the position to make an upgrade on either one?
Colario…..how does having Wenger’s photo on our website equate to the false,hypocricsy of the media concerning the Arsenal?
Tom……AFC were opportunistic and very skilled in landing Ozil and Sanchez. Should they let them go, you can bet it will be at top rate prices and we will already have scouted potential replacements who can match their skills. Griesmann or Benzema are likely targets to replace Sanchez, as are a multiple of other skilled attackers. Replacing Ozil is more problematic but I am sure Wenger has hios scouts looking at multiple targets just in case. Transfer are always a dynamic affair taking, in some cases, years to plan and achieve so I’m not overly concerned. We also have many youth players coming up and Wenger will likely continue to sign other promising youngsters.
We also have Wellbeck,Wilshere and Campbell available next season and we have the two transfer windows coming up (Jan. & summer) where we can expect some movement to line up replacements for our aging players (Cazorla,Per,etc.)
Telegraph is currently running its key headline in big font on its football page saying “Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez could leave Arsenal at end of season, says Arsene Wenger”.
When you actually read the article, and only read Wenger’s quotes ignoring the usual garble from the journalists, you realise that Wenger has said the following:
“Eighteen months is a long time in football,” the Frenchman said. “I can’t give any assurances. But they have 18 months and are completely committed. Beyond that we will try and extend that contract but I cannot make a subject of that. That’s a normal part of negotiating. The less you talk about it, the better it is.”
“Will it impact the dressing room? No, we are professionals. 18 months is a long time and I don’t believe that is any problem. They’ve been hugely important. You can talk a lot but the most important thing is what they do on the pitch.
Their commitment is absolutely total. The first quality of a professional guy is to give 100 per cent. It’s here and now, that’s what it means to be professional.”
“These players have 18 months left,” said Wenger. “They will stay for 18 months and hopefully much longer. These players will stay for at least 18 months. At some stage you will accept negotiations are private and secret. We’re professional and work until the last day of our contracts.”
So all I can gather from Wenger’s quotes is that:
He is trying hard to get the pair to sign, but acknowledges that negotiations are not easy (presumably due to the high wage demand), but he doesn’t want to keep talking about it as he prefers to keep his negations private. One thing he is adamant about is that he will keep the players for 18 months even if they don’t extend their contracts. He says that this wouldn’t create a motivational problem as the players are 100% professionals and will give their best until the last day of the contract even if no agreement is reached!
For me, it sounds like a statement of intent from Wenger, that we won’t sell you to make a quick buck if you don’t sign, rather we will make you see out your contract! Rather positive if you assume that Arsenal would never be able to match the £400k pw touted salary from a Chinese club for both players as that would simply create a line in front of Wenger’s office from the rest of the squad looking to treble their wages.
I for the life of my can’t get how did the “Einsteins” (as Mourinho likes to call the football hacks, and I for once agree with him) deduce from Wenger’s statements that he will let Ozil and Sanchez go at the end of the season!
Deliberate mischief makers these bloody football hacks are! They are worst then pimps!
Omg
I don’t disagree with you at all.
Further more, if Ozil and Sanchez both insist on making £20m p/y then I wouldn’t blame anyone for letting them go.
Well we can’t compare ourselves to those two transfer market sharks even if we do now have the financial potential. It’s exciting to think we’ll add another world-class player in the next two transfer windows and form our own Big 3.
But the main caveat as we saw this summer is that the market for top-end players has really contracted. Not sure there are Bale or Suarez-standard players outside of the major clubs (which L’pool and Sp*rs weren’t at the time). Despite being “replacements”, Suarez and Bale played in different positions to Ozil and Sanchez, which hypothetically is another uncertainty that a new manager could bring along with tactical adjustments.
Good points Tony.The English media are Arsen and Arsenal haters, all coz they are envious of the class n sophistication of both manager and the team. Sanchez and Ozil came to Arsenal because of Wenger yet the dim wits at daily mail et al would like us to believe Wenger is the reason the two will leave ,,,,it boggles the mind.
Any one with an iota of a footie brain will tell you both Ozil and Sanchez had a nightmare time in Barca and Real respectively. It is the Arsenal environment, style and Wengerball that has revived and rescued their careers. it is Arsenal that has blossomed their visibly exciting bromance. Both players look obviously happy in practice or real matches.
The British press is trying to plant seeds of division in the dressing room to help their beloved Chelski, Manure or the Liverfools.
In the last 20 years, Liverfool, Chelski, the Spuds and even Manure have plummeted from Top teams to mediocrity with all of them currently out of Champions League. In fact Manure, Liverfools and Chelski did not even qualify for Champions league. Arsenal has been consistently Champions League for 20 years and in those 20 years they won the leagues many times including going the whole season without losing with the invincibles. Always top four and never a mid table mediocrity that Manure has been for a wile now.
Wenger is class and Arsenal are class. Arsene Wenger makes players great and no player who leaves ever reaches the greatness at Arsenal. Ask Nasri, TV5, Adebayo, Van Pussy, Cesc etc.
NB: I CANT WAIT FOR WELBECK TO COME BACK and see what a beast Wenger will create out of him!
GUNNER FOREVER!
Excellent post Boyd! These media hacks will do anything to undermine Wenger and Arsenal. Anyone that fails to see the conspiratorial nature of the media attack on Arsenal must not be paying attention. Unbelievably,the club and Wenger maintain their poise and class.They’ve even co-opted many of the ex-players into making negative comments about the club. Ozil and Sanchez contracts are just the latest in an attempt to create a false alternative reality.Unfortunately,some of our fans have bought into these false reality of unremitting criticism and negativity.
Ozil and Alexis. When their current contract ends, they’ll be 30? That makes ARSENALs position stronger.
I am all for hard bargaining. Both sides should do it. End of the day we win if both, ARSENAL and players, get a good deal.
Arsene confirmed Sanchez has a huge offer from China and he also confirmed we did put a offer in for vardy! So get your facts right and report the truth instead of reporting nonsense!! This makes you no different to the papers and reporters you love to have a go at!
1. Wenger said himself that Arsenal wanted to sign Vardy.
2. ““Some sources claim Özil and Sánchez want £20million-a-year, £384,000-a-week, to re-sign with the Gunners and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has appealed for them not to let money decide their futures.”
This is the exact opposite of what the Guardian said just one day before when it quoted what Mr Wenger said in a press statement, “Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal’s hopes of securing Alexis Sánchez to a new long‑term contract will depend more upon convincing the forward of the “values” and ambition of the club than the financial package on the table.””
can you please clarify how are the quotes opposing each other (exactly)?
Oleg, the simplest answer is someone is making part of it up.