Yesterday saw widespread reports of Arsenal midfield maestro Mesut Ozil deciding to re-up at the Emirates. The German, who was set to see his current contract at the north London club expire at the end of the year, dropped a major hint on Twitter, posting a photo of himself at an autograph signing session on January transfer window deadline day.
Today, just two hours ago to be exact, Ozil posted the following message on his officially verified Instagram and Twitter accounts, confirming the news:
?? #YaGunnersYa pic.twitter.com/msr20AUOm3
— Mesut Özil (@M10) February 1, 2018
“#YaGunnersYa …. ooh yaaa ?? Proud to announce: I signed dat thing ? 3 more years with @Arsenal! It’s been one of the most important decisions of my footballing career and that’s why I had to think hard and talk with everyone who’s important to me… Good things take time! In the end I let my heart decide. As I always said, I feel at home here and I’m highly motivated to achieve big things in the next few years. Once a Gunner, always a Gunner! ? #M1Ö #WeAreTheArsenal #London”
The club’s official page has since made a posting also confirming the deal. The move completes what has no doubt been a blockbuster January transfer window for the north London side.
The Evening Standard reports that the Ozil deal is “a three-and-a-half year deal at the Emirates that is worth up to £350,000-a-week, by some distance the most Arsenal have ever paid a player. Ozil has more than doubled the £150,000-a-week he earned in his previous deal.”
So much for all the transfer rumor stories linking Mesut Ozil to Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.