Mesut Ozil says he will stay at Arsenal until 2021

Unai Emery Mesut Ozil

The Germany international penned a lucrative contract extension until 2021 in January 2018, reportedly worth £350,000 per week.

However, he has not been a key figure for the Gunners under Emery, particularly this season.

Ozil has featured just once in the Premier League in 2019/20 and his lack of game time has inevitably resulted in speculation that he could be on the way out of the north London club.

But the 31-year-old was firm in his response when asked about his future at Arsenal.

“I have a contract until the summer of 2021 and I will be staying until then,” he told the The Athletic.

“When I signed the new deal, I thought about it very carefully and said it was one of the most important decisions of my footballing career.

“I didn’t want to stay for just one or two more years, I wanted to commit my future to Arsenal and the club wanted me to do the same.

“You can go through difficult times, like this, but that is no reason to run away and I’m not going to. I’m here until at least 2021.

“I said that Arsene Wenger was a big factor in me joining Arsenal – and he was – but ultimately I signed for the club, even when Arsene announced he was leaving,

"I wanted to stay because I love playing for Arsenal and that’s why I’ve been here for six years.

“When I moved from Real Madrid, it was a really tough time for Arsenal. But I always believed in what we could do and together we delivered.

"More recently things have been difficult and a lot has changed. But I’m proud to be an Arsenal player, a fan, and I’m happy here. Whenever people see me in the street I always say, ‘This is my home’. I’m going nowhere.”

NOW READ...

ANDY MITTEN: Paul Pogba may be inconsistent, but Manchester United really need him to stay

QUIZ! Can you name the 40 oldest clubs in the Football League?

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.