Arsenal news: Mesut Ozil contract negotiations 'moving along', says Arsene Wenger
The German is out of contract in 2018
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsene Wenger has revealed that Mesut Ozil’s contract negotiations are ‘moving along’, but admits that nothing ‘concrete’ has been agreed with the German.
During Arsenal’s AGM this week, chief executive Ivan Gazidis claimed that the Gunners are now able to compete with their big-spending rivals over player wages.
Along with Ozil, the club are also looking to tie down Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin to contracts in the coming months.
Ozil and Sanchez are out of contract in 2018 and have been locked in negotiations since September, while Bellerin’s performances are attracting admiring glances from Europe’s top clubs and Arsenal are keen to ward off any interest.
When quizzed about the World Cup winner’s contract, Wenger said: "There is nothing really concrete enough to talk about. It is moving along."
Gazidis had previously warned in an interview with the New York Times that Arsenal “can’t afford to outgun competitors that have far more money than we do”.
However, speaking to the club’s shareholders on Monday, Gazidis offered a more positive assessment of the money available for players’ wages.
“We have a good track record in recent seasons of retaining our key players, developing young players and attracting new players,” Gazidis said.
“We are now beginning to compete in terms of wages with some of those clubs around us. There is continual growth in investment in wages but also in transfer fees.
“Very importantly our player sales have reduced so we have retained more of our important players. We've had funds available to pay market values and as a result the reliance we have had on transfer revenue has gone down dramatically.
“I can't get into a discussion on individual players but I can assure you we will apply the same focus, rigour and diligence to members of our current squad and I think you can see the direction of travel.
“Overall we have attracted some global talent - Sanchez and Ozil are renowned names.
“We increasingly believe we have constructed a squad that is capable of competing for the very highest honours in the game.”
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