Mesut Ozil has yet to see action for Arsenal FC but the Gunners need to fulfill their financial commitment. The German defender still got a fat $10 million bonus recently, something that was part of his hefty contract signed in 2018.
According to The Athletic, the huge amount of money given to Ozil was part of the clause placed to make sure that the 31-year-old defender would not leave Emirates Stadium. Ozil's contract with the Gunners expires next summer.
Ozil has been kept in the doghouse since March and there is a growing belief that Arsenal is trying to offload the German defender. Unfortunately, that has not happened until now. This means that the Gunners will have to fulfill other financial obligations such as bonuses even if he is not being utilized by Mikel Arteta.
In the eyes of many, however, this is a financial hit for the Gunners. Most know that Arsenal is already struggling financially and proof of that is their inability to add new players to the mix. For Gunners legend Martin Keown, this is an expensive problem and something that is financially unhealthy.
"If you think of the money it’s costing Arsenal… £18million-a-year, that’s the equivalent of the interest payments when they took out a loan on the Emirates Stadium," Keown said in an interview with TalkSPORT. "That’s how restrictive that has been. They need to cut their losses and pay him off."
According to @DarrenArsenal1, Arsenal is saving around £100K per week by not including Mesut Ozil in the squad. pic.twitter.com/LDG4WQ1CB9 — Urban Arsenal (@urbanarsenaI) October 10, 2020
For his part, Ozil made it clear that he plans to finish his deal with the Gunners. He has gotten several offers from clubs in other leagues but the German rejected all pitches. Among the teams who dangled a lucrative offer to the 31-year-old include Al-Nassr and Fenerbahce. Ozil prefers to stay with the Gunners rather than move elsewhere.
Ozil has fallen down the pecking order and most have hit his attitude and approach to the game. Arteta continues to keep him out of the active players list and most had expected him to be at least loaned out for this season.
It appears that despite his talent, no club is willing to pick up the tab. Arsenal could handle part of his salary, added expense that Gunners could do without. But with no takers, this is seen as the best Arteta and company can do until next summer.
Unless this is addressed, Arsenal will be carrying someone who is being paid without playing a minute on the field. It is a predicament that has no solution in sight with Arteta focused more on making sure that Arsenal is headed in the right direction.
