It’s not a particularly great time for Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil on or off the pitch as he’s been the subject of further speculation this week.
With his current contract with the Gunners set to expire next summer, serious question marks have been raised over his long-term future at the Emirates, as from January 1 onwards, he’ll be able to open discussions with other clubs over a pre-contract agreement.
As noted by The Sun, there had been suggestions that he had informed his teammates that he would be leaving for Man Utd, but it’s claimed that he’s furious over the lies and hasn’t expressed a desire to move to Old Trafford.
Nor has he held contract talks with Arsenal since March, and he hasn’t been pushing for a £300,000-a-week contract, as per the report.
The 29-year-old has had a tough spell with the Premier League giants following his move in 2013 as he simply hasn’t been able to play an influential role consistently enough to end Arsenal’s long wait for another league title or for success in the Champions League.
He’s struggled for form and fitness so far this season, while he has been dogged by criticism throughout his playing career over the fact that when he isn’t influential from an attacking perspective, he can be a liability defensively, but he’s still regarded as a top-class player.
Ultimately, Ozil hasn’t delivered consistently enough, especially in the big games against the top six. While many Arsenal fans still don’t want to lose him, they’ll certainly hope he doesn’t move to Man Utd having lost so many key players to direct rivals over the years including the likes of Robin van Persie and a string of stars to Man City, and based on these latest suggestions, perhaps it’s highly unlikely.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t rule out the possibility of an exit in January entirely. If Arsenal are convinced that they can’t persuade him to sign a new deal, then the sensible thing to do would arguably be to sell him in January and get some sort of fee rather than lose him for nothing six months later.