Ozil has to be right on the money
MESUT OZIL has been told to go out and earn his money by leading Arsenal back into contention for the Champions League.
Tying up the Germany midfielder was like making an extra signing for Arsene Wenger this week when Ozil finally agreed to extend his contract in return for a pay hike up to £350,000 a week.
But Wenger has warned the star that it comes with a far greater responsibility to drive the team forwards on a more consistent basis than the occasional – and therefore frustrating – masterclass, starting against Everton today.
“He has committed his future to the club in a period where we are in a tricky position on that front, in qualifying for the Champions League,” said Wenger. “You expect that he becomes the leader and takes the responsibility to lead the team to success. He will be the technical leader of the team.”
Wenger admits no amount of money will make Ozil roll up his sleeves and get stuck in like a traditional leader in English football.
“That’s why I say the technical leader,” he said. “Physically Mesut is much stronger than people think. His distances are quite good. He can run. He is not a tackler but when he is angry he can.”
Nor is Ozil a player around whom Wenger says he can build an entire team. Instead, after the arrival of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he expects one to evolve around him.
“A team goes naturally through its strong points,” he said. “You cannot artificially create that.
“A team has its own subconscious intelligence and chooses a way in the game which is most efficient.
“Normally, when you say ‘build a team around that’, I do not decide that, it’s the team who decide that on the pitch. Mesut is naturally a focal point because they give him the ball.”
Certainly, the usually frugal Wenger is not going to admit any of the Arsenal coffers have been wasted in keeping Ozil here beyond the summer. Nor does he feel it should have a destabilising effect on the club’s previously rigid pay structure.
“When you let a player go, you have to buy somebody of the same calibre and if you add the transfer needed and compare it to the wages, it will be similar,” he said. “So overall, Mesut for us was the cheapest option. “On the other side, all of our players are well paid – very well paid. I’m not sure feeling sorry for them is the most objective assessment.” It is still money some consider might be better spent on a defender or two, not least after Arsenal’s horrendous 3-1 capitulation at Swansea on Tuesday. That took the number of goals conceded to 34 in just 25 games. It is the worst ratio Arsenal have suffered in a league campaign for 34 years.
“Defensive strengthening is a huge problem for everybody,” said Wenger. “Everybody looks for defenders. Manchester City again bought a defender. How much money have they spent on defenders in the last three years?”
To be fair, they have conceded only 18 goals this season as a result – is that not the point?
Perhaps Ozil also now has ‘tracking back’ written into his job description as part of the new deal.