Injured, uninterested and now sacked? How Ozil proved Arteta right at Fenerbahce

FT Desk

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 6 min read

It’s certainly fair to say that there was no love lost between Mesut Ozil and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta when the Germany international departed the club last January.

Resigned to little more than a spot on the bench or in the reserve team, Ozil made the move to Fenerbahce in early 2021 after clearly struggling to impress Arteta, who at the time was still an unknown quantity at the London club.

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The attacking midfielder made it clear who he had time for at Arsenal upon his departure, when he thanked the club, its supporters and even technical director Edu Gaspar. But Arteta’s name was nowhere to be found on the statement.

In fact, the only time Ozil has made reference to his former manager since leaving Arsenal came late last year, when he tweeted a sarcastic “Trust the process” remark after the London club had been thrashed 5-0 by Manchester City.

However, despite the player’s remarks, his time at Fenerbahce has gone from bad to worse and come to vindicate Arteta’s decision to not only free Ozil out of his first team but also push him out of the club altogether.

Ozil’s horrendous time at Fenerbahce

Despite being welcomed in Turkey like a returning hero, Ozil’s performances on the pitch haven’t managed to live up the hype off it.

In his first half season at the club, the midfielder missed no less than 11 of Fenerbahce’s 21 league games and it didn’t get any better in his first full season at the club.

Even though he was awarded the prestigious No.10 jersey by the Turkish giants as well as the captain’s armband, Ozil has spent much of this season either injured or sitting on the bench.

In all three competitions, Ozil has only managed 26 appearances this season and either been injured or dropped from the team on 16 occasions.

Indeed, the relationship between the player, his manager and the club has become so strained in recent months that last month the club announced that Ozil had been excluded from the first team squad.

According to Spanish paper Diario AS, the Turkish club have also now begun the process of terminating Ozil's contract at the club with immedaite effect.

Which, as Arsenal fans will undoubtedly note, isn't entirely different from what happened to him under Arteta at the London club.