Arsenal have been in talks with Mesut Ozil over an extension to his current contract since last season, and he has broken the silence on why he has so far failed to agree.
The German international was our star player of last season, earning the title of assist-king, but has fallen behind team-mate Alexis Sanchez this season who is showing his true star quality.
The pair are both into their final 18 months of their current deals, and so far neither has managed to agree terms on an extension, but the stumbling block for the deals appears to be different.
Alexis Sanchez and Arsene Wenger have both stated that money is standing in the way of an agreement being made between the pair, but Mesut Ozil is not overly-concerned with this.
The midfielder has confirmed that he is so far refusing to sign a new deal unless the future of his current manager Arsene Wenger is cleared up, a theory we at JustArsenal.com brought to you some time ago.
Ozil said: “I am very, very happy at Arsenal and have let the club know that I would be ready to sign a new contract. The fans want that I stay and now it is just down to the club.
“The club knows that I am here most of all because of Arsène Wenger. He is the one who signed me and he is the one whose trust I have. The club also knows that I want to be clear what the manager is going to do [in the future].”
Does Ozil’s stance increase the likelihood of Wenger staying? Was there any chance of Arsene leaving this summer? Would the #WengerOut brigade be happy to get their way if it meant losing a key player?
Pat J