Arsene Wenger says he’s still hopeful of persuading Mesut Ozil to sign a new deal at Arsenal and is buoyed on the negotiations front by the commitment the German is showing on the pitch.
After more than a year of talks, the Gunners have so far failed to persuade the World Cup winner to put pen-to-paper on an extension. The 29-year-old now has only five months left on his current deal and could leave the club on a free transfer in July.
Asked for an update on the situation in his pre-Swansea press conference, the boss said:
“Our intention is to keep Ozil at the club. Hopefully we will manage to do that very soon. We’re not close enough to optimistic and not far enough to be pessimistic.
“The vibes I get from his commitment, from his focus, from his desire for achievement with the team is he behaves like somebody who is completely focused and committed and ready to commit.
“After that, contract negotiations are what they are. Here we are a little bit not close enough to say he will do it I don’t know.”
SIGN DA THING!
Take the chance to be loved by Arsenal fans as one of our top players (or just be another player that we don’t like much, or worse depending on the club you go to).
With Ozil I don’t like the lack of clarity. Surely Arsenal have to know before end of January window if he is staying or going. If he is not signing then sell him.
Surely after the window ends if he decides to not sign then Arsenal would have a problem. Would go so far as to say that even if its unclear on final day, Arsenal should take a call.
I think there is zero chance that he will be sold this window; his staying through this season, even if he does now renew, is worth more than the price we could get.
There was far more clarity with Sanchez’s situation, everyone except the players seemed to know he was leaving. Ozil is keeping so quiet no one knows what’s really going on.
I’m sure wenger realises that Ozil is in the shop window right now and this is often behind a sudden resurgence in form…
“We’re not close enough to optimistic about and not far enough to be pessimistic.” – Wenger for prime minister, certainly a very politicians reply.. Haha ?
You should have seen the cheeky laugh that followed that comment ?
Well, he would certainly be an improvement.
May be a bit pessimistic, but honestly don’t think he will sign. He has seen what Sanchez could get by running his contract down. He could easily command 300k in the summer + signing on bonuses, which I don’t think we will indulge in.
We’re all hoping Özil deal will be done soon. I’ll be over the moon like I was when we initially signed him from Madrid. #YaGunnersYa!
Of course the measure of a club’s success will always be silverware won, and our FA Cup wins recently have all been fantastic. Coming back from two down to win our first trophy in almost a decade, followed by one of the most one sided finals you’ll ever see the next season. And who could forget big Per against all the odds leading us out to completely dominate the premier league champions. All great memories. But have to admit, my best post-Emirates Arsenal moment has been the news which broke that night on deadline day 2013. All Summer spent whinging… Read more »
I remember Arsene’s smirk the day before. We’d just beating a spuds side being raved about after mostly frittering away the Gareth Bale money. The pub i was watching at had the volume down during the post match interview, but just from the sly look on his face you could tell the old magician had something up his sleeve.
And all of us oblivious and just wondering whether or not we’d get Cabaye over the line. What a bonkers 24 hours XD
I would like to see Arsene star in a new LOTR installment – think he would make a good French Gandalf
Don’t play with my emotions like this Arsene
Get Aubameyang and the negotiation might be a tad easier. Great players want great players around them.
I’ve watched his YouTube compilations and I’m a bit concerned that he scores most of his goals off breakneck counters which is simply not how we play especially with the number of teams that park the bus against us.
wonder if he’s holding out for us to get back into champs league before committing?
It’s like they never talk to each other!
Judging by his vibes…
Same with Sanchez, it’s gonna be Ozil last big contract, after this windows closed Ozil is one foot away from moving to a better club, i hope it’s not United again though, probably Chelsea because he loves London. Signing of Aubameyang and strive for top 4 give us a chance imho, but whatever it is Ozil would ask 300k pw salary i think, except something happen and his performance declining again.
Better club ! You’re having a laugh !
Oh stop this noncense. I would love for Özil to sign but it won’t happen and Wenger knows that as he’s already signed his replacement.
I hope i’m wrong, I truly do.
We need this guy because things don’t tick when he doesn’t play
We must live in hope; but if he does go, please don’t let it be to United
I get the impression Ozil wants a reason to stay. The noises are more positive, he seems to still be popular amongst the team but we’re just not in a desirable position. He could have already signed a pre-contract agreement with any club in Europe, outside the UK but hasn’t, so that is promising. Unless his end game is to ultimately sign for United I think he will wait until the end of the season to see where we are. If we don’t qualify for the Champions League one way or another, or bring in one or two more world… Read more »
Hammer, meet nail. Nail, be prepared to be twatted on the head.
I think securing Aubameyang and a Champion’s League spot, along with a sizeable salary bump would be enough for him to stay.
Anything less though…
I’m concerned by the Juventus rumour.
I’d like him to stay.
All signs point to him leaving.
Don’t get your hopes up Gunners fans -low expectations are the key to happiness.
“We are a little bit not close enough to say he will do it I don’t know. ” Sigh. Neither do I Arsene, neither do I. ?
I’m getting real tired of reading what our management “hopes”. This isn’t a dig at Wenger at all, just.. fed up with media needing to sell clicks. I’m sure Wenger, like the rest of us, has been *hoping* the deal would be done soon for about a year now. Any moron can hope. Including me. I’m not paid to hope. I’m paid to deliver. To Close, if you will. I don’t have a problem with players giving an interview saying they’re still fighting to win the league, and that they’ll do their damned best to make that happen, and they’re… Read more »
Why do we always seem to have complete fuckwits at our end of these things.
If the Ozil contract doesn’t materialize and the Aubameyang transfer falls through because of money (we actually have), I can see the rest of our season descend into the kind of chaos we’ve not seen in decades.
I’m a bit concerned that we seem to be having a wobble over £10m. Again.
Wonder iif this has any impact on the situation https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2018/01/23/can-arsenal-afford-ozil-wilshere-mkhitaryan-and-auba-in-light-of-premier-league-salary-cap/amp/
I just can’t see it happening from his perspective, his last big contract. surely he will want a stable club where he can compete in CL right from the start as well as get a salary aligned with his talent. I hope we can get there soon but it’s not something we can offer at the moment. I think it’s as simple as that even though it’s a bit sad..
Yes we all hope that he does and keep our fingers crossed and everything else . Mesut gives the impression that he is a man of principle and cares about the fans and loyalty . However , painful as it is , we have also to accept the fact that as a free agent he may choose to take the highest bidder’s offer . So as an Arsenal fan , I hope the management have a plan also to deal with him leaving -and the team have to be prepared for life without him . Arsenal should be able to… Read more »
just let him go wenger , whats the point of trying to keep him if he don’t want to play for us , sell him and buy someone who does want to play for us , we wont be any worse off
It means bye bye ozil. We lost Ox, Theo, Gab, Coq, Alexis to get a man united reject. What the fuck is this? Are we seriously planning to win anything? We need at least three players to compete against other top teams. If we don’t get any, we are going to finish in 10th at end of season. Ozil won’t stay. The specialist in failure will take us to Relegation one day.
Using phrases here Mourinho has invented make u look like an idiot.
your right , but the players we sold were crap anyway, so it wouldn,t matter if they stayed or not
are you an Arsenal fan ? Judging by your comment , you are way better off supporting another team managed by someone you consider a better manager . Best for your health ….
please explain
I remember Wenger saying a couple of days ago that Alexis was also very committed every game and that renewal didn’t turn out very well. Hope the German stays though. He is way more important than Sanchez ever was or will be.
” Hopefully we will manage to do that very soon. ”
I like the sound of the “very soon”. Makes you think not on the “if”, but on the “when”.
“I count the grains of sand on the beach and measure the sea; I understand the speech of the dumb and hear the voiceless. The smell has come to my sense of a hard shelled tortoise boiling and bubbling with a lamb’s flesh in a bronze pot: the cauldron underneath it is of bronze, and bronze is the lid” – Delphic Pythia c. 6th c b.c. “After that, contract negotiations are what they are. Here we are a little bit not close enough to say he will do it I don’t know.” – Islington Pythia c 26th Jan 2018. Reincarnation?… Read more »
I wonder if his reluctance to sign has anything to do with him being roasted by the media on so many occasions, and even the fans, accusing him of being a lazy player. Whether anybody else agrees or not, if he dooesnt stay, it will be far worse than Alexis leaving. Of course, I am biased because I haven’t liked Alexis for the last two years at least. With Mikhtaryan coming, and possibly Aub, Ozil will be critical as a play maker.
If Ozil signs, he will have my utmost respect for life (not that he doesn’t have it now though)….why?…well, doing a ‘sanchez’ in summer would make serious financial sense, and there will be plenty of suitors, given the red hot form he is right now. So if he signs, its for the love of the club, not for money and he becomes my hero for life…..nothing wrong with ‘wishing for the star’, right?
Curious that we all want him to stay, now. Many threw him under the bus repeatedly with very unkind sentiment through the years. You just have to think that all that negativity weighs heavily on his decision. I do hope he stays. I’ve always enjoyed watching him play as my expectations of Mesut are more forgiving than most.
Exactly, I said that months ago. Why should he sign a new deal when we have such a hostille fanbase which changes opinions from game to game. Ozil is not that much better then he was at the start of the season when they criticized him on personal matter. I would love him to sign a new contract but I will also understand fully if he does not.
Give him no. 10 & he will sign. It is his last big contract. He wants to be remembered as M10 clearly.
Give him whatever he wants and I am sure he will sign. If Sanchez is paid 500k, why is it wrong to pay Özil at least 300K. I hate the fact that other clubs are laughing at our inability to keep our important players.
Clubs may laugh but there is also the little matter of sustainability in your finances , having a viable club which lasts for the long term and affordability . Just like your household budget and pension savings etc … you can live a life for the here and now you cannot afford to keep up with the Joneses by use my a large overdraft and debt …. and hope for the best …. or you make the difficult choices when they come up to ensure you do not have to face the bailiffs when you cannot afford your lifestyle …..
thank you for bringing sanity and financial planning to this conversation.
wish everyone could see things as clearly as you do sir…
tip of the hat.
Get it done, he will contribute much more now that we are not so sanchez oriented. And get the wilshere deal done! Do we never learn? We want him to perform, which is what he does, and ic he continues to perform, which we want, his wage demands will grow exponentially since he is out of contract, increasing any gap to what we want to offer, Get it down now your muppets!
Özil, please sign again and stay. Help us become the title winning team we believe we can be.
What a load of bull… he ain’t staying. Get used to it. Mega bucks pay deal for a player of his calibre, and he ain’t getting it at arsenal.
Ozil’s off to United and one last dagger in the back of Wenger. Mourinho is going to have the last laugh and it will be at expense of the Arsenal fans.