Mesut Özil accused Unai Emery of not being a coach after being substituted in the Europa League final, according to reports in the Turkish media.
According to Turkish outlets Hurriyet and Fanatik, lip readers have established that Özil said “Wallahi (I swear) you are not a coach” to Unai Emery after he was substituted last Wednesday. The German had just received a less-than-positive reception from supporters after the announcement of the change, with Arsenal trailing 4-1 at the time.
The fact he was being taken off for 19-year-old Joe Willock probably didn’t help much either. The teenager proved he was a worthwhile introduction with a few nice touches and making himself a great chance which he put marginally wide. Nonetheless, Özil is always going to feel he can do a better job than a player 11 years his junior.
According to Fanatik, Özil’s words were the last straw for his relationship with the head coach, and he’s been placed on the transfer list as a result.
Whether that last part is true or not is up for debate. The Turkish media are keen to push a move for Özil to their Super Lig, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were exaggerating the situation a bit. At the same time, the playmaker’s wages have been cited as a problem for Emery before.
Either way, it certainly seems as if things aren’t exactly rosy between Emery and Özil right now.