Ozil: ‘No hurry’ over deal; Arsenal can meet targets

Matt Stead

Mesut Ozil is in “no hurry” to extend his Arsenal deal, but insists the club can still meet their target of third place.

Ozil has two years remaining on his contract at the Emirates Stadium, with the club and manager Arsene Wenger reportedly keen to extend his deal, as well as that of Alexis Sanchez.

World Cup winner Ozil has been in fine form this season, scoring six goals and assisting a further 18 in the Premier League – he requires two more to equal Thierry Henry’s 13-year record of most assists in a season.

Speaking to German news agency Sport-Informations-Dienst, Ozil says there is no rush to sign a new deal.

“There’s no hurry,” he said. “I have two years left on my contract. We’ll see how it goes at the end of the season.”

There have been reports that Ozil is keen to either return to the Bundesliga or one day play in Turkey, where his grandfather grew up before emigrating.

“I’m not saying that I definitely must return to the Bundesliga or spend time in Turkey. But I’m not ruling it out either. Maybe I’ll finish my career in England.”

Arsenal sit fourth in the Premier League, level on points with Manchester City and only five points clear of Manchester United, who have a game in hand in their quest for Champions League qualification.

Many see this season as a missed opportunity to win the Premier League title, with the unlikely pairing of Leicester and Tottenham leading the pack.

Ozil admits that Arsenal have squandered their chance this season, but that finishing third would represent a successful campaign.

“If we finish third in the table and directly qualify for the Champions League, at least we will have met our minimum goal,” he said.

“But we could have won the league title this season. We dropped too many points against the smaller teams.

“I definitely would not have believed it had someone told me before the start of the season that Leicester would win the title – nobody would have believed it.

“Hats off to Leicester. They always give 100 per cent and deserve to be top of the table.”