Germany international Mesut Ozil has expressed his intention to stay put at Arsenal despite his existing deal due to expire at the end of next season. The World Cup winner has been stalling on contract negotiations over the past year, but he is prepared to sit and discuss terms following the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and China.
Prior to the game against Sydney FC today, Ozil insisted that his preference is to stay at Arsenal, and he will seek to sort out his future once the team return to north London later this month.
“It is definitely my preference to stay,” he is quoted on Arsenal’s website. “Once everyone is back in London, we will sit down and discuss the future. I have always said that I feel very good at Arsenal.”
Ozil who currently earns £140,000-a-week has struggled to find his best form during the middle stages of the previous campaign, but the switch to the 3-4-2-1 formation brought more of his abilities as he managed to find a noticeable bond with Alexis Sanchez, who is also in a contract standoff.
Arsenal got their pre-season off in a fine fashion after they beat Sydney FC by a 2-0 scoreline earlier today. Skipper Per Mertesacker continued from where he left out in the FA Cup final as he opened the scoring with a stunning acrobatic effort in the fourth minute while new club-record Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to make an instant impression with an 83rd-minute goal.
Things look rosy for Arsene Wenger’s side as they head into their second friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday at the ANZ Stadium, but the biggest test could be against the likes of Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the International Champions Cup starting July 19th.
