Anyone else really bored with the Sanchez and Ozil situation? Has it got to a stage where you couldn't care less if they went in January or in the summer? I'm getting to that stage.
In the summer, we heard lots about Sanchez but not much about Ozil. There is a strong rumour that there were not many offers for Mesut Ozil, perhaps the odd offer from Turkey and maybe China. The fact is, no one seemed willing to pay £40m+ along with 300k+ wages for Mesut Ozil and therefore he stayed at Arsenal. Perhaps he was always going to stay at Arsenal but the choice seemed like it was made for him and us as a club.
If you remove the £40m+ and only have to offer wages, the prospect of getting a player as talented as Mesut Ozil suddenly begins to sound more appealing. We've had links with Inter Milan and more recently Manchester United, who's manager has made it public knowledge how him and 'Messie' were very close and has described him as the best number ten in the world but also hinted England wasn't the ideal league for him.
There is a bit of a mystery around Ozil at the moment, he had a full pre-season, started the first few games of the season but then vanished. He had some sort of an injury, came back for eight minutes against WBA and disappeared again. Never has the hashtag #WheresOzil been more appropriate.
This could be Arsene Wenger's way of fading Ozil out of the team and the game at Stamford Bridge may have given him some encouragement. The fact that Alex Iwobi seems to have found some playing time again and Jack Wilshere is looking stronger and stronger all means the need for Mesut Ozil may be reduced. Saying all that, Mesut Ozil is still a fantastic player and if we can get him playing to his level again like he was this time last season, there is no doubt he would be one of the first names on the team sheet.
As much as I'm frustrated and bored of the saga, seeing Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil play in the Manchester derby next season would be quite disappointing but as we saw at Chelsea, maybe it's time for us to focus on Arsenal again.
Arsenal may well be open for offers for Ozil in Jan if he doesn't contribute much. With Sanchez, it may be a different story, he is playing and looking a little sharper game by game. He has his arm waving moments, but he has had those for years, fans could just ignore them easier because the team was doing well and he was under a longer contract.
Earlier this season, at the football writers event raising money for Grenfell Tower, Arsene Wenger, who was a guest speaker, talked about the uncertainly of last season and his own situation. It resulted in his own players coming to his office and questioning if he is 'in our out'; how long until the same questions are asked of Ozil and Sanchez? With the former nowhere to be seen and the later who was nearly out of the door on August 31st.
If we could agree a deal now to sell them both abroad in January, I would definitely take it. The issue last summer was the lack of offers for Ozil and Sanchez only wanted to go to Manchester City and that may still be the case in January but for two players who clearly are not keen to be here, the lure of a PSG or Bayern Munich or even Inter Milan may make them think.
I think Arsenal are ready to move on – they are talking to Ramsey and Welbeck and will be thinking ahead about replacing the big two. You would think that sooner or later, the uncertainty is bound to have an impact on the club and the squad. There are already whispers about how some of the squad are frustrated having to carry out media duties in place of Sanchez and Ozil and it's no secret that Sanchez can be quite disruptive and a bit of a nightmare in the dressing room and let's hope for Arsenal sake, it doesn't all blow up in their faces.
The ideal situation is for the two to leave in January to an overseas team and we can move on and hopefully finish in the top 4 where we can replace them well.
If they two stay until the summer, I fear the next time we may watch them on the same pitch will be in that Manchester Derby next season.
