If reports from the Sun are to believed, the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has finally managed to persuade Mesut Ozil to end speculation over his future and sign a new contract worth a whopping £280,000-a-week to stay at the Emirates. The Gunners boss, who himself renewed terms earlier in the week, is believed to have finally convinced the German star to stay, with a lack of serious offers from other clubs also understood to play a vital role in the agreement.
Whilst Ozil was initially holding out for wages in the range of £350,000-a-week which would see the German on par with the Premier League’s highest-earners, the report from the Sun claims that a lack of leverage in terms of lucrative offers from other clubs has resulted in the player having to settle for Arsenal’s offer of £280,000-a-week, with the Gunners clearly breaking the club’s wage structure to keep the World Cup winner in North London.
But while a similar offer has been tabled to retain the services of Alexis Sanchez, there appears to be comparatively lesser progress with the Chilean having no shortage of lucrative offers from Europe’s elite clubs, the most serious of whom being German champions Bayern Munich and the Gunners’ Premier League rivals Manchester City. While it is understood that the Bavarians are not willing to meet the player’s exorbitant wage demands, it appears oil-rich Manchester City will have no such problem.
In my opinion, Arsenal have to push further to secure the future of Alexis. Even if the wage demand is in the range of £350,000-a-week, there is no doubt that the player is worth every penny and deserves to be one of the Premier League’s highest-earners. While it is certainly good news to hear that Ozil is close to signing on, whether or not the club will be able to retain the services of Alexis will be the greatest indicator of the ambition that the club claim to have.
AT