Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta has fired back at Mesut Ozil’s agent who had accused him of being ‘dishonest’ due to his treatment of the expensive star who has been sidelined by the club.
Ozil who earns £350,000 every week was not included in the club’s Premier League or Europa League squads, meaning he will not be fielded until January.
That move by Arteta pushed Ozil’s agent, Dr Erkut Sogut, to criticise him through a heated war of words with Arteta insisting that he been honest over his reasons to keep Ozil out.
Arteta spoke to the Mirror ahead of the gunners game against Leicester tonight.
‘If you have to lead, they have to trust you. In order for them to trust you, you have to be honest. You have to be clear and you have to be able to tell people, face to face, the good and bad news.
‘Then you have to be consistent in what you say, the demands you put in and what you apply.’ he said.
Arteta accused Ozil of being unaccountable but Sogut’s withering criticism prompted him to admit that he has ‘failed’ to ensure every player is performing at their best.
But the furious Sogut on an a separate interview with ESPN told Arteta to give Arsenal fans a honest explanation not a lame excuse that he failed the World Cup winner.
‘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.’
Ozil who won World Cup with Germany has not featured for Arsenal since March due to what Arterta said are purely football reasons.
The star has however insist that he was exiled because he criticised China’s mistreatment of Uighur Muslims.
The controversial player was also on the headlines for refusing to take a pay cut at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ozil said he opted not to take a pay cut because there was no clarity over how the money was going to be spent.
Later on after it had emerged that he would never play for Arsenal again, the midfielder released a statement which criticised the club for their lack of loyalty.
