Mesut Özil Future 'Uncertain' With Arsenal Unwilling to Offer Contract Extension

The future of Mesut Özil has been thrown into doubt (again) with Arsenal yet to offer their highest earner an extension on his current deal.

Under previous manager Unai Emery, Özil found playing time hard to come by, but since Mikel Arteta took the reins the German has become a more regular fixture in the Gunners' starting lineup.

His current contract is due to expire in the summer of 2021, but the latest rumours from ESPN suggest that Arsenal are yet to decide whether to take his, currently seven-season ,stay further.

With no offer on the table from the club's hierarchy, that could leave Özil with two options.

Firstly, he could leave at the end of this season, giving Arsenal the chance accrue some kind of fee for his exit, or he could depart on a free transfer at the end of the following campaign.

Last summer, the club made it clear to the forward that he could leave north London, with his £350,000-per-week wages a source of both controversy and financial strain on the club's limited budget. Ever since he put pen to paper on that deal in January 2018, the weight of expectation has risen on his shoulders, and the general feeling is he hasn't lived up to his sizeable pay packet.

Which is why it doesn't come as a huge surprise that this is Arsenal's stance on the matter. Their supposed shoestring budget has resulted in links to soon-to-be free agents such as Willian and Layvin Kurzawa, therefore removing Özil from the wage bill could free up some much-needed funding. At present, the club fork out £230m-a-year on player wages.

However, the German has stated on previous occasions that his desire is to remain in the capital and see out his deal. With his wife recently giving birth to a baby, it is unlikely that his stance on the matter will change suddenly.

There have been previous suitors for Özil, namely Inter, AC Milan and Fenerbahce, but none of the trio could match his wages and nothing materialised. With the midfielder due to turn 32 in October, it's hard to imagine they will try again.

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