Ozil not going anywhere, insists Wenger
Arsene Wenger has rubbished claims that Mesut Ozil is set to leave Arsenal, while also commenting on Manchester United's double midfield swoop and Raheem Sterling's move to Man City.
"During this period, the newspapers are creative and have to be creative, but many times the stories are created by agents," he said after arriving at Singapore's Changi Airport with his Arsenal team.
"Ozil is our player, he will remain our player and wants to remain our player.
"It's a big season for him because he had a difficult start last year and in the second part of the season he was very important [for us]. He's improved his defensive attitude, he works hard and offensively he's a top-class player."
Arsenal's Premier League rivals have been far more active in the transfer market of late, with the Manchester clubs making big waves in recent days.
"We knew Manchester United would not be happy to finish outside the top three and that they would respond," Wenger said.
"They've made interesting buys; they came out of the season thinking 'we have to rebuild our midfield' and they did it by buying two important players, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger and [Morgan] Schneiderlin.
"They're two top-class players, one who goes up now to the top level and who has done it all. So it should be interesting to see how they mix with the other players in midfield."
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Wenger also gave his two cents on Manchester City's latest big-name acquisition, with the Citizens set to complete a deal for Liverpool's Raheem Sterling.
"It looked a done deal a while ago, with Sterling adamant he wanted the move," the Arsenal manager said. "For me, Sterling is a top-class player and a good buy for Man City. An expensive one, but they can afford it.
"[Arsenal didn't make a bid] because he plays where we have plenty of players, but we're still open to do something else."