Mesut Ozil signs new long-term Arsenal contract to keep him at the Emirates until 2021
The 29-year-old has ended speculation regarding his future by extending his stay with Arsene Wenger's side
Sponsored by
MESUT OZIL has admitted he let his heart rule his head to sign his new £350,000-a-week Arsenal contract.
The German playmaker deliberated for 18 months of negotiations before finally committing himself to a new deal that effectively takes him to the end of his career.
Ozil, 29, is now contracted to Arsenal until the summer of 2021 and admitted: “In the end I let my heart decide.”
In a message on his social media channels, the highest-paid player in the club’s history confirmed: “Proud to announce I signed three more years with Arsenal.
“It’s been one of the most important decisions of my footballing career. That’s why I had to think hard and talk with everyone who’s important to me. But good things take time.
“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!”
Arsenal were only able to agree a new deal with Ozil after Alexis Sanchez had signed for Manchester United as they could not afford to meet the extraordinary financial demands of both players.
Now Arsene Wenger is hoping that his players will no longer be distracted by the constant speculation which has accompanied their Premier League collapse.
KNOCK ON EVANS DOOR West Brom boss Alan Pardew confirms made deadline day swoop for club captain Jonny Evans
Midfielder Mohamed Elneny said: “Now there is nobody focusing on signing a new contract or leaving.
“This will give us a lot of stability because all of the players are staying and everyone is focused on the next part of the season.
“I was very happy when Mesut told me that he had signed a new deal with the club.
“He’s a very important player on and off the field, someone who finds everything easy to do.”
Confirmation of Ozil’s new contract came the day after Arsenal completed a club record £60million deal for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But they missed out with an audacious £12million bid for West Brom defender Jonny Evans in the final hours of transfer deadline day.
West Brom boss Alan Pardew insisted: “I’ve sat here for weeks saying ‘don’t make a bid on the last day because you’re not going to get what you want’.
“It wasn’t for any lack of warning to Arsenal. Unless they made a bid a bid that was going to knock us off our chair, we weren’t going to sell. And it was nowhere near that.
“So they probably got the response they were expecting with that bid.”
💰How to win £1MILLION with Sun Six💰
SUN SIX is the new predictor game where you can win £1million - just by correctly picking the results of six games.
Here is how to get your mitts on the million:
- Make your picks - predict the scores from these six games
- Enter your details - quickly sign up to Sun Bets so we can contact you
- Score £1m - Watch the scores roll in and you can win £1m
Top pundits IAN WRIGHT and DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM have made their picks for this week if you need a steer.
And remember, you can claim a free £30 bet with Sun Bets when you sign up put a tenner on this weekend's football .