German magazine SportBild have a big feature in their edition this week on Mesut Ozil.
Specifically it’s about an Arsenal contract extension, the amounts involved, and what Ozil wants from the club.
SportBild say that in principle, Ozil is prepared to extend his Arsenal contract by two years until June 2020, whereas Arsenal would be considering three years.
The German international has a couple of special conditions, say SportBild, if he’s to continue happily at Arsenal.
The first one is shirt number.
Ozil is said to want the ‘chief number’ 10 that he’s inherited from Lukas Podolski for the national team. SportBild say the number is special at Arsenal, with Dennis Bergkamp having worn it, and they point out Ozil was a fan of the Dutchman as a child.
The number 10 is currently Jack Wilshere’s squad number, but there’s at least a little uncertainty over the midfielder’s future given that he’s currently on loan at Bournemouth.
The second condition is strengthening the team to compete for the biggest titles, Ozil wants to win the Premier League.
Whilst SportBild point out the signings of Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi were impressive, they hold aloft €60m Alexandre Lacazette as a target to improve the Gunners.
Of course, money is mentioned. Ozil currently earns €160k per week according to the German magazine, and SportBild believe he could be the first Arsenal player to break the €200k barrier, with the figure of €230k per week mentioned.
