‘Ozil will be bored collecting ridiculous wage at Arsenal’ – Nicholas expects World Cup winner to leave Emirates Stadium

Mesut Ozil will be “bored” stuck on the bench at Arsenal, says Charlie Nicholas, with the World Cup winner expected to push for a move elsewhere despite claims that he intends to stay put and see out a “ridiculous” contract.

The German playmaker’s representatives have suggested that his deal, which has 12 months left to run, will be honoured. If that is to be the case, then Ozil will become a free agent in the summer of 2021.

It is, however, likely that he will find himself stuck in the shadows at Emirates Stadium if he chooses to stick around, with manager Mikel Arteta having frozen him out of his plans.

Nicholas believes that will edge Ozil towards the exit, saying the 31-year-old is still ambitious enough to want regular game time despite being in a position where he could down tools and collect a lucrative salary.

The former Arsenal forward told Sky Sports: "The wages that Ozil has been getting has been ridiculous, but that's not Ozil's fault. That's down to the committee and the board who gave him the money and said, 'we think you are well worth this value'. I don't know how they got to that assumption.

"This is a fabulously talented footballer with a brilliant CV at Real Madrid and at national level, we know that, but Arsenal have struggled to get consistent performances out of Ozil. He doesn't offer the same guarantee as [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang.

"Ozil has made so much money and he will be bored. He will be frustrated and fed up, and when he gets the right deal he will eventually move on. He won't be sitting around with his little umbrella in the sunshine for much longer as it's a habit of life! He wants to go and play."

Ozil has been restricted to just 23 appearances across all competitions in the 2019-20 campaign.

He has seen no competitive minutes since football returned in mid-June from a coronavirus-enforced break and can expect to find himself on the fringes of Arteta’s plans once again when Arsenal face Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday.