Arsenal Launch One Final Attempt to Tie Down Attacking Star to New £275k-a-Week Deal

Arsenal are set to make one final push to retain the services of German midfield star Mesut Ozil in the coming weeks, hoping to nail down a new contract with the 29-year-old's representatives before he is free to talk to other clubs at the start of January. 

The Mirror report that Ozil is ready to become the biggest earner in the club's history, with a weekly wage of £275k on the table, but that the Gunners' hierarchy must still convince him that they offer a genuine opportunity to win major silverware. 

The World Cup winner's contract runs out in the summer, leaving him free to sign a pre-contract with foreign clubs on January 1st - a deadline which is now less than three weeks away. 

The club are pulling out all the stops to prevent that though, apparently unwilling to allow both Ozil and Alexis Sanchez both leave in the same year. The Chilean's impending exit has been accepted as more or less inevitable by Gunners staff, but Ozil is seen as more easily tied down to a new deal - in part because of a lack of suitors. 

Barcelona and Manchester United are said to be monitoring his situation, but there has been nothing like the wild rush and jostling for position that clubs were taking part in to steal away Sanchez last summer.

The former Real Madrid man sits top of the club's charts for chances created and crosses made in the Premier League this season, and has roared back into form in recent weeks despite some indifferent results.