Mesut Ozil seemed destined for a move away from the Emirates during the transfer window as his contact was due to expire come the end of the season, and like his former team-mate Alexis Sanchez, the German maestro looked most likely to join Premier League rivals Manchester United in the summer.
Despite the rumours, Ozil opted for an Arsenal stay and signed a contract until 2021, worth £350,000 a week, replacing new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan as Arsenal’s highest earner.
Speaking of the new contract, the midfielder said:
It’s been one of the most important decisions of my footballing career and that’s why I had to think hard and talk with everyone who’s important to me.
SportBlid reported that during the January transfer window, Ozil turned down approaches from Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain, Barcelona and a huge £22m per year offer from Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande. The interest from PSG and Barcelona in particular would have been Ozil’s greatest chance of domestic and European success, but Ozil seemed very happy with staying put at Arsenal.
Keeping Ozil, and the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, gave Arsenal fans something to cheer about on deadline day, in what was a nervous transfer window.
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