Mesut Ozil is reportedly ‘demanding’ a massive wage increase from Arsenal.
- Ozil currently earns a reported £140kpw
- Contract runs out next year
- Manager says Arsenal asking for €50m – Fenerbahce linked
- Keown believes Gunners are ‘carrying’ Ozil
While none of the Arsenal team turned up against Tottenham, Ozil, once again, is being used as the scapegoat by the media.
The Daily Mail has gone from claiming that the German is set to accept Arsenal’s new offer of £250kpw just recently, to reporting that he’s now demanding £300kpw.
They initially said that, due to lack of expected interest from other clubs, Ozil was set to return to negotiations in the summer with his tail between his legs and sign an extension, which he’d previously allegedly refused.
Now, it seems, they’ve changed their tune.
Meanwhile, Martin Keown reckons the playmaker could be trying to force his way out of Arsenal by sulking and not trying, which seems incredibly harsh.
“Arsenal are simply carrying Mesut Ozil and they cannot afford to do so. It is very clear that he is not giving everything to the cause,” the ex-Gunner wrote for the Daily Mail.
“It looks as if Ozil has given up on his team-mates. I don’t know whether he is trying to sulk his way to a move.
“Who does he think he is kidding with his performances? He is supposed to be Arsenal’s most influential player, their playmaker. Against Tottenham he was just jogging around the pitch.”
He added, “Ozil cannot be upset with any of his team-mates if he is not prepared to work hard himself.”
Ozil’s contract runs out at the end of next season and it’s thought that if he doesn’t sign a new one when negotiations resume in the summer, Arsenal will look to sell him in order to cash in and prevent him from leaving on a free next year.
The 28-year-old’s agent allegedly claims that the Gunners are asking for €50m amid links with Fenerbahce.