This past weekend, Arsenal FC star Mesut Ozil celebrated the fourth anniversary of his move to the Emirates with a long Facebook post answering critics of both himself and the club in general. Ozil called on club legends to quit bad-mouthing the team and start showing some support.
This was written before former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit told the Daily Mirror that the current Gunners are “acting like babies and kids.”
Ozil has now received some blowback for what he posted on Facebook, via former Arsenal man Ian Wright.
“It’s laughable,” Wright told BBC Radio 5. “We’re not talking about a team charging up the league, we’re talking about a team that’s under-performing.
“It’s not just the team, it’s the people in the boardroom, the manager, everybody.”
Then Wright dropped the proverbial boom on Ozil.
The German, like Alexis Sanchez, is out of contract at the end of the season, but his future isn’t receiving the same kind of coverage and attention as Alexis. Wright called out Ozil for not signing a long term deal with the club.
“Sign a contract if you feel that strongly about people criticising the team because you’re someone who’s integral to Arsenal’s success,” Wright said.
“You’re going to continue to hide behind Sanchez. Why haven’t you signed yet? That’s what I would say to you. If you feel that strongly, why haven’t you signed yet?”
Wow! Harsh! It seems like the feud here just went up a notch.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.