Mesut Ozil Pledges Future to Arsenal as Club Confirms New Long-Term Contract
Arsenal play-maker Mesut Ozil has officially pledged his future to the club by signing a new contract, finally bringing the saga to an end and rounding off a productive few weeks for the Gunners in which Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both arrived.
The new 'long term' deal is rumored to be three-and-a-half years in length and will now see Ozil remain at the Emirates Stadium until the summer of 2021, by which time he will be just four months shy of his 33rd birthday.
Ozil had been due to become a free agent at the end of this season and became eligible to negotiate with foreign clubs on January 1 when he entered the final six months of his deal.
The German World Cup winner's fresh terms have been reported to be worth around £350,000-per-week before tax, making him the highest-paid player in Arsenal history.
Ozil joined Arsenal in the summer of 2014 from Real Madrid for what was then a club record £42.5m fee. He has played close to 200 games for the club in the four-and-a-half years since, with last season his most prolific in front of goal after netting 12 times in all competitions.
Attention is now likely to turn to negotiating a new contract with Jack Wilshere, while a decision must also be made over the future of long-term injury absentee Santi Cazorla. As things stand, both players will be out of contract this summer.
