Mesut Ozil was not around when Arsenal F.C. won the FA Cup over Chelsea F.C. The German opted to be in Turkey, getting the approval of Gunners' management since he was not going to be used anyway.
Regardless, the 31-year-old still kept tabs of the game even while in Turkey. He even congratulated Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his teammates on their victory on social media. Initially, all that seemed acceptable. But in the eyes of former Arsenal player Perry Groves, the fact that the German player elected to fly out and not join his Gunners teammates was a show of selfishness and lack of respect, particularly for Mikel Arteta.
To rewind a bit, Ozil flew to Turkey when he found he would not be part of the team that will play against Chelsea. The German has yet to play a single minute since the football restart with Arteta believed to be keeping him in cold storage. A reason for this believed to be Ozil's laidback attitude, something that could lead to his exit from Emirates Stadium this summer. Groves gave his comments on the decision of Ozil to be at Turkey than be with the Gunners even if he was not going to play.
“That just sums him up all over. He’s not bothered about Arsenal, he’s just bothered about himself,” Groves said via TalkSPORT. “I wouldn’t want my teammates to think that I was that selfish. So it just means that he knows he’s done with Arsenal."
The reason as to why Ozil is in Turkey remains unknown. Further, it does not speak well on what the future holds for the German football player. There are several teams interested in his services, one of which is Fenerbahce of the Turkish Super League. Ozil is believed to have previously thumbed down that offer, most speculating that he prefers to stay in Europe.
At present, Ozil is the top wage-earner for Arsenal. He is being paid $444,000 a week and is under contract for almost another year. Rather than move out and play, Ozil plans to reportedly play out the remainder of his contract with the Gunners. Ozil becomes a free agent in 2021.
Considering he is still being paid even if he is not playing, the approach is understandable. However, Arsenal is expected to try and dangle him to other Premier League clubs in the summer. Most are being turned off by his high salary though the Gunners can maneuver through that. Among the options include possibly loaning him, probably the best recourse given the financial situation of teams right now.
