Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has spoken to The Athletic regarding his future at the club amid rumours linking him with a move away from the club.
The 31-year-old has made 23 appearances this season scoring just a solitary goal. He hasn’t been featuring a lot since the footballing season resumed after the COVID break and he wasn’t even a part of the victorious squad that took on Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
As per a recent report from Turkish Football, Ozil was spotted with Okan Buruk, the head coach of the Turkish League champions Basaksehir. This has sparked rumours linking him with a move away from the Emirates.
In an interview with The Athletic, Ozil spoke about his future and he had this to say:
“I’ll decide when I go, not other people. I’ll give everything I have for this club. Situations like these will never break me, they only make me stronger.”
“I showed in the past that I can come back into the team and I will show it again.”
In the interview, Ozil also spoke about refusing to take the 12.5% pay cut in April which the club proposed due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. He mentioned to The Athletic that he did so because the players weren’t given enough details.
The German star also added that there was an agenda against him, but he is not afraid to stand up for himself.
Ozil became Arsenal’s record signing in the summer of 2013 and he has gone to win 4 FA Cups as well as 3 Community Shields. Despite this success, he has been not able to feature much in the team since the arrival of Mikel Arteta.
A player of his class will always be able to contribute if and when he’s given a chance. If manager Mikel Arteta feels that he can contribute in a positive manner, he will definitely be included in the match-day squad. However, it seems that trust is missing currently.
The German is the Gunners’ highest paid player as he earns around £350,000-a-week and simply put, it wouldn’t be wise to keep him at the club and not play him. Fans will be hoping that he can still leave with good memories as his contract is set to expire in 2021.