Arsenal have paid a mammoth £15.75m per goal and £787,500 per tackle to Mesut Ozil: Report

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil was all set to return to the field against Manchester City this week, as he took to Twitter to hype himself after the 100-day hiatus in football. However, the German, who is currently on a £350,000-a-week contract failed to even find a place on the bench for the game against Man City, with manager Mikel Arteta terming it as a tactical reason. Ozil's signing, which was once regarded as a coup for the Gunners has quickly fallen down a cliff.  Now, a report has attempted to calculate Arsenal's expenditure on the former Real Madrid midfielder, putting a figure to his lack of end product on the pitch.

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Mesut Ozil contract: Midfielder slammed for playing Fortnite

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was called out for the exclusion of Mesut Ozil from the 20-man squad for the game against Man City. The manager labelled Ozil's exclusion a 'tactical decision'. However, Arsenal have received considerable flak for spending £350,000 ($435,500) every week on a player who hardly makes it to the starting XI. Ozil also faced heavy criticism after it was revealed that he was playing Fortnite during Arsenal's game against Man City. 

Mesut Ozil contract: German has made a mere 23 appearances

Daily Mail published an in-depth analysis of the Mesut Ozil salary as well as his numbers for Arsenal. The German midfielder has made 23 appearances for the Gunners this season, totalling 1,812 minutes across all competitions. He has scored just once, along with three assists, in what has been a rather poor return from a player who is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the game. His stats are thought to be the major reason for his exclusion from the Arsenal squad. 

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Mesut Ozil contract: Star earns £15.75 million

Mesut Ozil has attempted 1,051 passes, averaging 45.7 passes per match. He has attempted 20 tackles in all, which rounds off to less than one tackle per game. Ozil was among the first to have refused to agree to a 12.5 percent pay cut amid the coronavirus-induced financial crisis. This suggests that Ozil has cost the club £15.75 million ($19 million) in wages alone. For perspective, then, one goal from Ozil has cost Arsenal £15.75 million in wages. 

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Mesut Ozil contract: One pass costs club £14,986

Every pass from Ozil has cost Arsenal £14,986 ($18,650) while the cost of every tackle is estimated at a whopping £787,500 ($980,000). Having spent 1,812 minutes on the field, Ozil earned £8,692 ($10,000) per minute. While Ozil still has a year left on his contract, it appears increasingly unlikely that Ozil will stay at the Emirates beyond this season. However, no potential suitors have come to the fore just yet.

Mesut Ozil contract: Man City vs Arsenal highlights

Manchester City scored thrice past Arsenal, two of which were products of defensive errors from the erratic David Luiz. Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden scored for Pep Guardiola, while Mikel Arteta's men failed to create chances in the final third. Luiz, before the first half, thighed the ball away for Sterling to strike it past Bernd Leno. Within four minutes of the second half, Luiz brought down Riyad Mahrez in the penalty area and was subsequently sent off. De Bruyne doubled the lead from the spot followed by an injury-time goal from Foden. 

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Image courtesy: Mesut Ozil Twitter