Arsene Wenger has stated that Mesut Ozil’s recent comments regarding his Arsenal contract have been “misinterpreted”. The Gunners remain in talks to extend Ozil’s current deal at the Emirates Stadium, which expires in summer 2018.
The German recently discussed his Arsenal future and suggested that he would only renew terms if Wenger clarified his own future at the club, with the manager’s own contract running out this summer.
“I think he has been a bit misinterpreted,” Wenger told his press conference on Friday.
“He wants to know but I don’t think that is the main part of his decision. There are many ingredients in any negotiation and hopefully we find a solution quickly with him.
“I speak more with his agent than with him on the contract. We do not master that situation. I am very relaxed.”
Arsenal believe both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will be inspired to sign new deals with the club after three other players agreed to contract extensions.
The Gunners announced yesterday that Olivier Giroud, Francis Coquelin and Laurent Koscielny have all put pen to paper on long-term agreements but negotiations continue to stall with the club’s two highest-profile players who have 18 months left on their current contracts.
In an interview with German magazine Kicker on Monday, Ozil claimed he wanted to know Wenger’s intentions before determining his next move. The Arsenal manager’s present deal expires at the end of the season.
However, while admitting it was a factor, Wenger sought to play down his personal influence in helping convince Ozil and Sanchez to stay.
When asked whether Giroud, Coquelin and Koscielny’s commitment could encourage others to follow suit, Wenger replied: “Generally I would say yes. Because the squad has a great spirit and I believe as well that the players will want to stay together.
Wenger continued to insist he is “relaxed” about the situation but both Ozil and Sanchez are seeking financial parity with the Premier League’s highest earners – a figure in the region of Paul Pogba’s £290,000-a-week, which would shatter the Gunners’ current pay structure.
Asked whether Ozil and Sanchez – who currently earn £140,000-a-week and £130,000-a-week respectively – would have to lower their wage demands in order to reach an agreement, Wenger said: “I do not want to go too much into detail on that because that can quickly be interpreted in the wrong way.
“We have to keep that as quiet as possible and try to find an agreement and at the end of the day, as well, respect our line of conduct that we always have.”