Arsene Wenger claims Arsenal star Mesut Ozil could be in 'comfort zone' thanks to bumper contract

Jack Rosser @JackRosser_19 February 2019

Arsene Wenger believes Mesut Ozil could be in his ‘comfort zone’ at Arsenal having been handed a long term deal during the Frenchman’s last season at the club.

Unai Emery, appointed as Wenger’s successor ahead of this season, has been nowhere near as supportive of the club’s top earner, with Ozil signing a £350,000-a-week deal last term, than his predecessor.

Time and again the German has been absent from matchday squads either through last minute illness and back spasms, or simply for what Emery has called ‘tactical reasons’.

His future in north London remains in doubt having started just 13 Premier League games so far this season, but Wenger thinks that the signing of his big money deal could have dropped Arsenal’s star man into his comfort zone.

Comfortable? Arsene Wenger claims Mesut Ozil's big money Arsenal deal could have put him in his comfort zone in north London
Arsenal FC via Getty Images

"I feel that the length of the contract has nothing to do normally with the selection of the team. But sometimes there are special cases," Wenger, speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards, said.

"Most of the time now we think when we sign a player for five years we have a good player for five years. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they practice, they play their best. Because they might be in their comfort zone.

"He has a contract but the problem is that if you want to buy a player like him you have to spend £100million.

"And to maintain the value of the player, beyond the Ozil case, it is more about the way football is structured.

Laureus World Sports Awards - In pictures

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"To buy players of top, top quality you need £100million. So the decision you have to make is whether you re-sign the player, who costs us nothing, or do we have the money to buy a new player?"

Ozil, whose deal runs until 2021, made 196 Arsenal appearances under Wenger, scoring 37 goals and setting up another 71.

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