Ozil - Do we need him?

[Power n Glory]

They're worth what, 100m for the pair? Of course they'll be sold if the right offer comes in and they don't want to sign. It would just be dumb to let them swan off on a free.

When clubs are paying around that mark for Bale, Higuain and Pogba....there is no way we should be accepting £100m for the pair. No way.

[selassie]

I think the opposite. They'll sell one and if needs be let the other one piddle off for free. I can't ever remember seeing two of our main guys leave at the same time - except maybe Overmars and Petit but that was in another lifetime it seems. And if they do leave at the same time or one before and the other after, so be it. The club isn't going to fold and shut it gates. Even if they extend their contracts at some point they are going to leave, so the club will have to adapt at some point anyway. Hopefully later rather than sooner but it is what it is. Far more important things to rage about than this. I'm certainly not going to let the media hold my concerns to hostage. That's the easy trap to fall into in and outside of sport.

All I can say is we will find out one way or another.

If for example we lose both of these guys the message it will send out to our PL and CL rivals will be extremely damaging, we will look like a small time club and it will damage our reputation.

We absolutely should not be losing any of our star players anymore, it's totally unacceptable and we have everything in place to be a highly successful club. Now is the time for us to start showing real ambition and flexing our muscles.

[Marc Overmars]

When clubs are paying around that mark for Bale, Higuain and Pogba....there is no way we should be accepting £100m for the pair. No way.

They're worth more but with a year to run on their deals I doubt we can expect to receive the kind of fees those players went for.

[Power n Glory]

They're worth more but with a year to run on their deals I doubt we can expect to receive the kind of fees those players went for.

You're right and that's why I suspect the club are now trying to attract the highest bid.

[Kano]

All I can say is we will find out one way or another.

If for example we lose both of these guys the message it will send out to our PL and CL rivals will be extremely damaging, we will look like a small time club and it will damage our reputation.

We absolutely should not be losing any of our star players anymore, it's totally unacceptable and we have everything in place to be a highly successful club. Now is the time for us to start showing real ambition and flexing our muscles.

We won't be seen as a small time club, that's just the paranoia fans trap themselves into without stopping think about how we are perceived across the UK and Europe. We'll adapt and move on, as we have done for over 100 years now. We can concern ourselves with doom and gloom about what will happen but our consistency throughout history of being near the top of the game is far clearer than the unknown of the future. I mentioned Petit and Overmars earlier because at the time they were clearly two of our most important players and I remember the shock and panic when they were surprisingly shipped out - but we moved on. Pre-season the media orgy was around Pep and Maureen because they were coming to dominate the league - that hasn't really worked out so far. Klopp and Conte and Pottecheato were going to make sure we sit in 6th place. So much shit is fussed, analysed and discussed and so very little of it pans out that way. Ambition wise, money was spent (finally) to build a good squad and so far it is working out well. if Ozil or Alexis want to leave, then they will and they'll justify it for whatever personal reason suits them best. Like we all do in life. But when - and sooner or later it's a case of when - they do leave, then it's time to adapt, just like club does when key players no longer plays for them.

[Letters]

Kano, It's out of the clubs control...if they refuse to sign then they'll both be put on the market next summer and will be sold as and when the offers come in, it could well be at the same time.

We won't allow either player to walk for free, we have invested too much money in them.

I personally think the damage has already been done...we have failed to show real sporting ambition since either of them have been here...

It's not entirely in our control but neither is it entirely out of our hands. It's like any job negotiations, it's up to the employee to make the decision but the employer's offer (and other competing offer) is a big factor in that decision.
What sporting ambition do you feel we needed to show? We're hardly languishing in mid-table.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Gazidis and Wenger are tuned enough into fan sentiment to know that there would be an open revolt if we allowed either Ozil or Sanchez to leave to a rival. And if the latter especially wanted the fans to accept him receiving a new contract without that much pushback, knows he has to get them to stay. Chips and Kroenke on the other hand ........... those mongs would probably sell them for 100 million combined; they're that clueless.

I might be naive, but that's the last pillar of hope I'm holding on to. That, and from what we saw with Vardy and Mahrez in the summer, a lot of players don't like upending and moving and would naturally prefer to stay in settled environments.

It's all because of fucking Man Utd though. They give out these ridiculous mega contracts to big names (250k for Zlatan, 290k for Pogba (after tax so its closer to 400k), 270k for Shrek etc etc) because they don't have CL football, because they have the money from shithouse sponsorship deals (noodle sponsors and Addidas ) and because Ed Woodward is a fucking moron and it just inflates the entire market.

There was a story that Alexis was using a supposed preposterous offer of 400k from China to help up his demands; I'd like to think that's not true and there's no way he'd actually go to China especially in the prime of his career. I do feel that offers around the ~250k range should be enough for the pair of them so they get parity with the other highest paid superstars in the league as is deserving of their stature.

Alexis especially is irreplaceable. It'd be the height of stupidity to let him go as there isn't another player available in world football who would give what he does; we especially should know that. We spent many summers looking for a world class striker only to not find one and then persisting with Giroud. Not to mention if there was one, he'd cost 70 million + which is ultimately more than what Alexis is demanding.

[Kano]

We could still win a big trophy, offer a stack of money and they still decide to leave us. They could sign another contract and agitate for a move after a season like Henry - there's no way of knowing. There is money to consider. Personal career achievements. Personal experience of wanting to play in another country. And family. There are two sides to the negotiation. We could put down he perfect package and it still might not be enough. We're spending on transfer fees like we never thought we would and currently paying wages above what we've expected in recent memory, so I'm really doubtful money will be the deciding factor here at all.

[Marc Overmars]

Lets just make sure we compete this year, if they still want to go then at least we can have no regrets.

[selassie]

It's not entirely in our control but neither is it entirely out of our hands. It's like any job negotiations, it's up to the employee to make the decision but the employer's offer (and other competing offer) is a big factor in that decision.
What sporting ambition do you feel we needed to show? We're hardly languishing in mid-table.

Aye, all we can do is give them both the best possible offer. I personally think we can and should shatter our wage structure to keep them here, I don't think we need or should be principled in any of this. We have 2 world class players who make us a very good team and we need to pay them accordingly, we are not in a position to contemplate losing either of them.

I feel and have commented on many occasions that Wenger has mismanaged multiple transfer windows, last summer was undoubtedly his best window in a very long time, prior to that he hasn't really added the necessary quality to the squad in sufficient numbers. We have not been ambitious enough in the market and up until this summer haven't addressed glaring holes in the squad.

Finishing top 4 is not enough anymore, we should be properly challenging for titles & trophies.