Mesut Özil’s agent has fired a shot at Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, suggesting his client could never join another English club as the Chelsea striker has.
Mesut Özil’s reputation with the fans at Arsenal has somewhat suffered in recent years, with the player initially dropping out of the Gunners squad before leaving for Fenerbahce, amid media speculation about what led things to that point under Mikel Arteta.
Yet the player’s agent – Erkut Sogut – claims the relationship between Arsenal management and Özil never soured as much as was claimed, and he’s still a welcome guest in north London.
Insisting that Özil still has affection for Arsenal, Sogut took a shot at the player’s former teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, now of Chelsea.
“[Özil] could never play for another English club, he’s not like (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang,” Sogut said.
“He loved his time at Arsenal, [and] is still in contact with a lot of players, not least (Bukayo) Saka, they have a special relationship.”
That relationship was seemingly on show earlier this month, when Özil posted a tweet about Saka following the youngster’s two goals against Liverpool.
“Just love for my boy, [Bukayo Saka],” Özil wrote. “Rocking the Premier League.”
The former Gunner added his “YaGunnersYa” hashtag to the tweet, and Saka responded: “Love you too M10”
There’s no doubt it adds an extra dimension to the complication around fan feelings towards former players when those players join rival clubs.
As frustrating as Özil’s departure was, at least he won’t be lining up against Arsenal trying to score against Arteta’s side on Sunday.
As for whether that decision to steer clear of other English clubs was really about loyalty to Arsenal, in Özil’s case, you can make your own mind up.