Mesut Ozil‘s agent Dr Erkut Sogut has criticised Premier League club Arsenal and manager Mike Arteta for not giving the German midfielder a fair chance this season. Ozil was recently omitted from Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa squad that gave rise to fear his time at Emirates Stadium has virtually ended.
Ozil has a contract with the Gunners that runs till the summer of 2021.
“Arsenal fans deserve an honest explanation, not [Arteta] saying ‘I failed Ozil.’ You didn’t fail Ozil: you failed to be fair, honest and transparent and treat someone with respect who has a contract and was loyal all the time,” Sogut was quoted as saying by ESPN.
“Every single person outside knows he hasn’t treated him fairly. He didn’t give him a chance to show himself this season,” he added.
Ozil responded to the 0mission saying “loyalty is hard to come by” in a lengthy statement shared on his social media accounts.
“If he is still under contract, the player should have the option to stay and fight for his place. Mesut hasn’t been given that. Why would you put a player on the bench twice for 90 minutes [Brighton and Crystal Palace in June] if he wasn’t fit or committed?” Sogut asked.
Sogut says Arsenal fans need an honest answer as to why Ozil is being treated this way.
“Everyone says he’s training well. Per Mertesacker said this publicly. I spoke with at least five team-mates who say he is training great. They say Mesut is one of their best players, and they cannot understand why he is left out. So it can’t be the training – if it is not the pitch, what are the footballing reasons? If you talk, you should tell the truth that the Arsenal fans deserve otherwise don’t talk at all,” he said.