Arsenal fans thought their club had made a significant saving by offloading Mesut Ozil in January ahead of his contract expiring, but that may not be the case.
Ozil's £350,000-per-week contract dominated headlines towards the end of his time at Arsenal, with the Gunners board reportedly left frustrated by the midfielder's unwillingness to leave.
Amid a lack of game time, Arsenal wanted Ozil out the door, but the former Germany international was having none of it, determined to stay and win his place back under Mikel Arteta.
That was until it became abundantly clear that Ozil would not be allowed to win his spot back, at which point he decided to move on, joining Fenerbahce on a free transfer after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract.
It was at that point that the Gunners' fans thought their club were going to save £350,000-per-week for the rest of the season ahead of the expiry of Ozil's contract in June.
But it seems that is not the case, with The Athletic claiming that Arsenal are still paying around 90% of those wages, accounting for around £315,000-per-week, and that's for Ozil to play for someone else.
That means Arsenal will pay around £7.38million between the moment Ozil left to the expiration date of his contract - June 30.
Ozil signed a three-year deal with Fenerbahce, his new contract running until the summer of 2024, and he has racked up seven appearances since joining the Turkish club, though he recently suffered a ruptured ankle ligaments injury.
Fenerbahce are three points behind Besiktas in the Turkish SuperLig with five games remaining.
Ozil might have settled in at Fenerbahce, but it seems as though Arsenal won't see the benefit of offloading the midfielder until the summer when his contract expires.
In any case, Mikel Arteta may get a little more cash to spend this summer on the back of Ozil's departure, and the 32-year-old wasn't the only saving Arsenal have made with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi also leaving the club during the winter window.
