Mesut Ozil’s agent, Erkut Sogut, says that the playmaker wants to stay in the Premier League for another two or three seasons, and insists talks with Arsenal are ongoing and heading towards a positive conclusion.
This comes despite recent reports from Germany which suggested no talks have taken place since much earlier this year.
Turkish outlet Fanatik report that Ozil was contacted by phone by the president of Besiktas President who wants to convince the 28 year old to join the Istanbul club.
That contact was confirmed by Sogut, but he insisted it was not a deal which was of interest, stating his clients desire to stay in England for the foreseeable future.
“Besiktas are interested in Mesut,” he said, “but there is no official proposal that has reached us.
“Even so, he wants to play in Premier League for at least 2-3 years more. Our contacts with Arsenal continue and we are going in a positive direction.”
At a time when there are serious concerns over the contract situations of Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, the team’s two star players, this could be seen as a bit of positive news.
The more cynical among us might suggest it’s a very brand conscious footballer and agent playing the game well, but time will tell.
Ozil and Sanchez can both begin discussions with clubs abroad from January 1st, so if we get to that point and there’s been no progress, I guess we can read a bit more into things.
I think the cynics amongst us may well be right..
This isn’t a proper transfer… or so the cynics may say. But I say to those cynics, listen cynics, this is the modern world and just because it’s new and strange and unnerving doesn’t mean it’s not… brilliant.
Is that a Peep Show reference?
The wedding!!
Poor Mesut – all he has ever needed is strength and pace around him. What’s so depressing is you know he would go to an absolutely stratospheric level with matic and pogba behind and lukaku infront.
“So, to the happy couple, Arsenal and … where is Mesut?”
“Job interview. Besiktas. It’s a biggie.”
Well done. Not enough Peep Show references in life.
Just blue sky thinking here but if he doesn’t sign, he’ll be on a free transfer and we could get him for a bargain in the summer. Maybe Wenger is looking into this…
Speaking of free transfers, am I mad in thinking that it might not be a bad idea to pick up Bacary Sagna on a free? We’ve got no proper back up for Bellerin and Sagna has played CB as well.
He was always brilliant at centre back to be fair
Honestly I’m so sick of this nonsense, we’ve been talking about Ozil and sanchez’ contracts for almost 2 years now. I say make sure wilshere gets a new contract because he’s Arsenal through and through and would run into a brick wall for the team. I’d take a player with hard work over talent anytime!
Yes, Jack runs… he ran to Bournemouth last season to get gale time instead of fighting for his place at Arsenal.
Well he’s fighting for his place now, and unlike certain players at least it looks like he actually wants to play for us
I too have heard that it can get quite windy on the south coast.
Clever chosen words from his Agent. He wants to stay in the Premier League for another 2-3 years. Essentially a way of putting the word out there that he is open to staying period making sure he’s leaving the door open to any counter offers from let’s say… a United ..
i kind of feel that no big club as of yet have moved for him . as his agent said besiktas are the only club that registered an interest in him . big clubs like real bayern wouldnt want to let the team carry a player througout the game. i would have loved if arsenal kept hold on to sanchez who makes a differece particularly in big games , but in the case of ozil its probably time to move on from him and start looking for a team player
It’s amazing the amount of our fans who have bought into that tired old media jibberish about Ozil not being good enough due to not tracking back and his body language being poor. I guess if you throw enough shit at a wall… Though number 10’s are a bit out of fashion, we still have a huge asset in one of the best in that position in the world. He’s never been the type of person to carry a team on his shoulders like Sanchez, but if you put the right team around him he’s top, top class. Despite all… Read more »
If we could just fix that CM/CDM position behind him…
Riiiiiiise Lord Wilshere
A clone of Riise and Wilshere?, thanks but no thanks.
And Lord. Don’t forget the Lord. And his man-bun.
FFS!!!
Signing him up with a release clause has to be preferable to him going for free.
But is he top top top class?
I agree, but at the same time he doesn’t deserve to be the highest paid player in the squad. We simply can’t trust/rely on him in big away games. He goes missing or the game passes him by. Not worth 250K a week, but still a good player to have.
44% of Arsenal goals or assists against the 6 best PL teams were goaled or assisted by Özil.
Problem is that there aren’t enough of them to win the top six battles and some say that is his fault. Tricky business this…
44% of not enough, is not much to shout about. But I like having Ozil in our team me.
If only everyone would understand how powerful of a statistic this is….some people though…
“He’s never been the type of person to carry a team on his shoulders like Sanchez, but if you put the right team around him he’s top, top class. So if we don’t have the right team around him he’s a liability which seems to be the case.
Yeah, wait till Moaninho signs him and suddenly he’ll become a great signing and the best buy of the league. Media will hail Moaninho for his transformation and Ozil for his improved work rate. In all fairness though, he would have a better Striker and a DM, in front and behind him in there than here.
I think we all know on some level that if he goes to united that prick Mourinho will turn him into an absolute world beater! C’est le vie
So Mourinho can turn him into a world beater – but Wenger can’t….that says a lot
If he signs for Manure in the summer, that the tired old media jibberish of him being lazy will be amazing spun to show stats that he does indeed put in the graft. It’s amazing what will happen when you go to a team that the media favour!
Oh give it a rest. It’s not the media’s fault that we are shit.
But here’s the thing Artro : if he’s not the type of person who can carry a team on his shoulders then we should not be offering him the sort of salary that suggests he is that type of player….
Do you really tthink that every Arsenal fan who isn’t 100% enamoured with Ozil is that way because of the media? Come on man, that’s maybe even more of a cliche.
But what is this idea of players carrying a team on their shoulders? How many players do we need in our starting XI to do that? If one is carrying the team, then the others don’t have to, isn’t that implied? If they are all carrying the team then they are sharing the load and not one single man is responsible for the performance.
Can’t we all see how flawed of an idea this is that he needs to “carry the team” in order to be paid so well?
The new contract isn’t just making him paid well. It would make him earn him far more than the rest of our squad….which is my whole point.
how is it gibberish . the game has changed from classic no 10s like bergamp dictating play to team playing as a single unit . and for a system to work all the players have to defend and attack as a unit . ozil wouldnt get into peps or mourinhos team if he is playing like he is for arsenal . only at arsenal do we let other 10 players carry him
Or maybe we are just using our own eyes? Why is it that anytime Ozil is criticized, that person doesn’t know football or is just listening to “tired old media garbage”. I have watched Arsenal for 30 years & have seen some.great players as well as terrible players. It’s obvious Mesut has talent but when has he ever truly taken a big game by the scruff of the neck & won it for us? Don’t gimme that “he’s not that type of player” bullshit as that’s exactly what star players do. Speaks volumes that so far only Fenebache have shown… Read more »
Love how everyone twists this all into their own personal narrative about Ozil.
“Contract talks are going in the right direction”………with which club?
Tongue firmly in cheek.
“Wants to stay in the premier league,” but no mention directly of Arsenal.
Seems like you didn’t read the story.
‘our contacts with Arsenal continue and we are going in a positive direction’
Ozil’s agent is Sogut at playing the game, will certainly get Erkut of the transfer fee…
*gets coat*
#Cheesy but sogut!
Let me translate.
He’d like to be in the PL where majority of the money is.
Having hoped that running down his contract would attract large offers? He’s realised maybe the Arsenal offer is the best he’s likely to receive? So he’s having to reenter talks with his tail between his legs.
Personally I’d be happy to see him go and dissapointed to see him stay, particularly if we gave him wages that reflect that of the worlds elite players who show up consistently.
Yes and he should be begging to stay. I don’t deny his assists were decent in the past couple of seasons but his overall attitude and lack of consistency should have him dropped to bench even if he signs.
Yes, attitude! Throwing gloves, laughing when we lose, bursting out of the training pitch, sulking when substituted…
Well you’d maybe forgive all of that if they worked hard and bagged 30 goals a season…
Alex, no doubt Alexis’ attitude has dropped but that’s only since things came to a head. If I was the player at my club who clearly cared most about winning for 2.5 seasons & when the manager refused to address the (very clear) issues with other players lacking a winning mentality, my patience would snap too. And when my patience snapped and the manager punished me for it….well I think my attitude would stink a bit too frankly.
Alexis is simply not the bad guy in the Arsenal story of the last few seasons.
yeah the rest are more or less ambivalent about winning, clearly. F
Hallo Rich. A negative comment about our most creative player. One day you’ll surprise us all by making a positive statement
Hallo Martin ?
Ozil’s a real joy to watch at times, but certainly not at others.
I make plenty of positive comments about our players.
But must admit… as talented as he is, Ozil isn’t a favourite of mine.
Not because I think he’s lazy or disinterested… but because I think at times it unbalances us playing with a no10.
Happy to keep him on moderate wages and use him relatively frequently.
Just think there’s times we should drop him, and no way should he be paid on par with elite players, because he’s certainly not consistent enough for that.
You can’t have a reasoned different opinion rich. This is arseblog conments
Hard to disagree with that too much Rich. I really like Ozil, so much talent, but have to admit that in the premier league the pure no.10 role role is a luxury we can’t afford, and no player is as symbiotic of it as Ozil. We have been better without him I’m afraid.
When have we been better without him, exactly? In the last few games when we were playing those heavyweights Bate and WBA and Brighton? Or was it that oh so impressive 0-0 draw against Chelsea, where we clearly played better than when we beat the same team in the FA Cup final with Ozil in the side?
Not sure if want
Ya Gunners Ya…!!!
Well I’d rather they said positive things about signing than negative things or just silence. No point complaining about this based on cynical assumptions regarding motives. #CheerUpRich
Fair enough. Ozil probably would want to play at the top level until the next Euros and then either go to a smaller league or retire.
We can offer a reasonable contract with trophies related bonus. I think if he stays he won’t start all the games a’la Bergkamp but, he will massively influence the way we play the game.
Okay stay but the contract offer is vastly reduced on what you didn’t sign before.
Accept it ozil fans he’s free and no one wants him still
That statement is a contradiction. Ozil fans want him : P
Haven’t talks been going in the right direction for 18 months now? Maybe his agent should wait until they have something concrete to say.
Writing has been on the wall for some time. I don’t think we will see Ozil or Alexis next season. Naturally it will complicate things less if one stayed on but its too tempting not to move given current market forces. We should be planning for succession now. Bring one in in January and the other can wait till next summer when we may also have to address fullback cover and maybe one or two aging Cbacks (Koscielny and MOnreal not to mention Per) For me, we do a deal with PSG early for Alexis. Bring in Pastore for similar… Read more »
…meanwhile, till they are gone, we have to use both assets to the maximum of their ability. Alexis is out of world cup now so he can focus his attention purely on PL. Ozil can still be an incredibly influential player for us. His running numbers don’t lie. He is more hardworking than many imagine and his passing unlocks opportunities for us. Meanwhile we develop Iwobi, redevelop Jack and of course focus Ramsey (also out of world cup contention) There’s no need to dis players who are wantaway. They are still fighting for us meanwhile and we need to get… Read more »
Sell him in January, we don’t need him. He’s been lazy, complacent & injury prone coward for the last year.
Never seen such an overrated player at the club, he’s never worth 250-300k a week.
Bin him.
Sign da ting, Mesut.
It’s so clear they wanted to sign and then Wenger renewed his contract. They see Wenger as the problem like OX. How can you have faith in a manager that’s plays players out of position and Ramsey every week?
“Hello, Mesut. Come to Besiktas.”
“Hello how are you. I’m coming to Besiktas.”
BAM BAM BAM
*doo doo doodoo doo doo*
I don’t actually want him to go to Besiktas, I just can’t hear that name without thinking of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxjL3MVdr-4
This makes me so happy! Sign da ting Mesut! Hopefully we can then get his friend Draxler to come and we can start winning things. Neither Mesut or his agent have ever said anything about going anywhere and we know Mesut is happy in North London so please let this happen. It wouldn’t surprise me if the fact that the pound has been falling because of Brexit has been one of the issues with contracts, it can’t have been helpful.
Failure to agree a new contract might be a positive outcome to a player in ozils position.
This news is Sogut it can’t be true, can it?
Ozil will go to Utd, he will pretend he didn’t want to leave up until he’s pictured with a Maureen grinning on his shoulder. He’s perfectly entitled to sign where he wants come season end but spare us all the theatrics for the next few months.
The right direction for Ozil. Not sure about Arsenal, though.
Probably just doublespeak.
What are the boundaries of tapping up? If a club’s intermediary talks to a player’s representative that fine, if a club’s president talks to a player directly that tapping up. So where does that leave a club’s president talking to a player’s representative which is clearly happened here? Anyway, if his agent is trying to leverage a better deal by waving Besiktas in Arsenal’s (or any potential suitor’s) face he need to find a bigger club. I’m sure Mesut doesn’t want to be playing in Turkey at this stage in his career, nor do they have the cash to pay… Read more »
finally the last games we played wit 11 football players and not 10 and the Walker
and we saw that the team was concrete
we do not have the luxury to have such a soft player
see chelsea….the most elegant player is Cesc and behind him he has cante & bakayoko & concrete defense
we should get rid of mesut and sign goretzka & william carvalho
he should be the face for Johnny Walker Black Label
sell him.. he is indifferent and has not lived up to the money we pay