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Midfielder Mesut Ozil has not played for Arsenal since Boxing day. There have been reports of minor injuries, but it’s clear that Unai Emery is frustrated with the contributions of a man on £350,000 a week. Emery has come out and said that the Arsenal board are only prepared to sanction loan deals in the January transfer window, and the Sun have claimed that Emery is looking to fund purchases elsewhere. With 3 goals and only 1 assist from his 13 appearances so far this season, Arsenal would not exactly be cashing in on a player in red hot form, but the fact remains that Ozil has great talent that most professionals only dream of. If Arsenal were to make it clear that they wanted to sell the German superstar, there are 4 potential destinations for him to showcase his undoubted ability.
Elsewhere in England
The Arsenal board are not exactly averse to selling to their rivals. The names of those who have jumped ship to direct rivals in the last ten years are rarely far from angry Arsenal fan rants - Nasri, Sagna, Clichy, Van Persie, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez. If the money was put forward, and Ozil’s preference was to stay in the country, the board would not stand in his way, even if this would infuriate the Arsenal fan base. However, it’s difficult to see an obvious Premier League destination for him. It’s very unlikely that Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp would be interested, as it’s hard to see how Ozil would currently fit into either Manchester City or Liverpool. In David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City have more talented and unarguably more consistent alternatives. Liverpool’s midfield is more workmanlike, but given the high-pressing way in which Klopp sets up his team, Ozil’s lackadaisical approach to regaining possession is unlikely to appeal to his countryman. Tottenham is barely worth mentioning given the presence of Eriksen and Alli in their squad and how Daniel Levy would respond to a player asking for 3 times Harry Kane’s wages. The only realistic propositions are Manchester United and Chelsea. Ozil is good enough to get in both their teams, neither of which are operating at the level they would want. However, the only viable spot available in Sarri’s 4-3-3 at Chelsea is in the front 3 as an upgrade on Pedro, which seems to be a role that wouldn't suit Ozil. Manchester United do have room for a genuine number 10 but have much more pressing issues in their backline to sort before adding another big name attacker.
Likelihood: 3/10
Paris Saint-Germain
With their "Pay first and ask questions later" model, PSG is inevitably the first thought of destination for an expensive footballer to go to. Ozil himself would also relish the opportunity to feed the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. However, two factors stand in the way of this transfer. Firstly, PSG is 13 points clear at the top of the league, having scored 21 more goals than anyone else, with the likes of Marco Veratti, Angel di Maria and Julian Draxler flourishing in midfield. It doesn’t look like there is a particular vacancy for creativity - the French champions are managing to create and score chances just fine. PSG already seems close to finalizing a deal for Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong and have indicated they want to approach future transfers with a less cavalier approach keeping FFP restrictions in mind. Financing a transfer for Ozil might not be on the agenda for a financially-conscious PSG.
Likelihood: 5/10
Bayern Munich
On first hearing, this seems unlikely. Bayern Munich is famous for their sensible financial approach (their most expensive player of all time is Corentin Tollisso, who they spent nearly £38 million on. In context, Monaco and Everton have both spent more on a single player). Additionally, Ozil has a long-standing issue with Germany after his retirement from international football, which he claimed was due to underlying racism towards him in Germany because of his Turkish heritage. The Bayern Munich president, Uli Hoeness, welcomed this news because ‘Ozil had been s*** for years’.
However, the Bayern side which has cruised to the Bundesliga title for the last 5 years look badly in need of a shakeup. 6 points behind a rampaging Dortmund side, Niko Kovac is under pressure to get results fast. World class players like Ozil do not become available very often, and Kovac could well feel that such an enigmatic talent, who has a good equation with many of his German players like Thomas Muller, could be worth the gamble.
Likelihood: 6/10
China
Finally, we come to the elephant in the room when it comes to any transfer discussion. The Chinese Super League is never short of clubs willing to pay twice what a star European player is worth and give them yearly salaries bigger than a small nation’s GDP. Financially, a move to the CSL would make sense for both Ozil and Arsenal, with the added bonus for the gunners that they would have no chance of coming up against their former player in any competition. However, the question would be whether Ozil himself is willing to forfeit the last few years at the peak of his physical prowess in a developing league. At 28 years old, Ozil still has a lot left to contribute at the highest level. For example, he has never won the Champions League and has just a solitary League title with Real Madrid to his name. Any move to the CSL will depend on Ozil’s desire to accumulate major honours.
Likelihood: 6/10
