Former Arsenal transfer mediator Dick Law has revealed the inside story of Mesut Ozil's lucrative contract extension at the club, which has divided opinion.
The World up winner extended his deal with the Gunners in January 2018, months before his previous deal would expire, to become the club's highest-ever earner.
Losing Ozil and Alexis Sanchez would have been a significant blow to Arsenal, at a time where the position of the club was extremely precarious, leaving the Gunners will little choice.
However, Law has revealed the reality of the situation and that, eventually, Ozil put pen to paper on a figure that he could have secured at a much earlier stage.
"The talks were always very cordial. Erkut Sogut is the lawyer who represents him and it was always cordial. The bottom line was what he was asking for was not just far from what our top salary was, it was significantly further," he told Goal .
"Their strategy was to come in with a number as high as they possibly could and see if we would bite if we were desperate. Ironically enough, he signed for what we had offered a year-and-a-half earlier."
While it was seen as a major coup at the time, Ozil's performances in the past 18 months have dipped and Arsenal would entertain offers this summer, although Law believes he still has the capacity to be a star.
"Mesut is so gifted, both technically and in terms of his intelligence. His ability to see a pass which for me, is second to none in modern football.
"The real question is can he be motivated internally and externally to produce that on a regular basis? Now, it absolutely has to start with a player, the player has to want to. No manager can make a player play if he doesn’t want to. But I know Ozil wants to.
"Arsenal can afford the Ozil salary. What people don’t fully understand is you amortise the cost of a transfer in conjunction with the player’s salary.
"If you look at the Hazard move to Madrid. Let’s say they paid £100m over five years, so that’s £20m [a year].
"And let’s say for argument sake they are paying him £15m. So that move is costing them £35m a year.
"Now, Ozil is not costing Arsenal anywhere near that number.
"So, it’s not just the player’s salary you have to consider when managing the cost of a player, it’s combined. It’s the amortisation of the transfer, plus the salary."
