Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has dismissed suggestions that Mesut Ozil has been offered a final take-or-leave offer at the north London club. The Germany international has just seven months on his current contract with the north London club, and this has increased speculation over his future in recent weeks with Barcelona deemed to be interested in his services.
Speaking prior to the West Ham game, Wenger stressed that there has been no such offer for the Germany international, and talks are still ongoing regarding the futures of both Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, he told Sky Sports: “No. Negotiations are always going on with everybody. I said that many times [that I want Sanchez and Ozil to stay] and that’s all we can say. Is it two years to go? One year to go? Three months to go? The door is always open and for the rest I cannot tell you much more.”
The Gunners have endured a tough first half to the season with their away form hampering their chances of competing for the Premier League title. The FA Cup holders are currently 17 points behind leaders Manchester City after 16 games into the campaign, and they are more or less out of the title hunt with the Citizens looking unbeatable at present. This hasn’t had much impact on football tickets though, with the stadium regularly selling out in spite of the lower league table position.
Both Ozil and Sanchez have seamlessly integrated into the Gunners’ first-team plans for the campaign despite their uncertain futures, and Wenger has previously insisted that the pair will stay put with the north London giants for the campaign, regardless of their contract status.
Arsenal are currently on a two-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, but they will be hoping to end this streak when they take on West Ham United on Wednesday night. The Gunners are presently the worst performing top-six club on the road with just eight points in eight matches.
