Mesut Özil has agreed a new three-year contract at Arsenal. The midfielder will put months of uncertainty behind him by signing the deal in the coming days. It will make him the club’s highest paid player on £350,000 a week and represents a massive statement of intent from both him and them.
Arsenal are also close to securing Jack Wilshere to a new contract, which would bring to an end another saga. Like Özil, Wilshere’s current deal is set to expire in the summer and he has been in protracted negotiations over a new one. Resolution is now in sight.
Özil has been free to discuss terms with foreign clubs this month while he stood to become an attractive Bosman signing in the summer, after showcasing his talents at the World Cup finals with Germany. But Arsenal have pushed hard to convince the 29-year-old that he can fulfil his ambitions with them – and they have done so, in part, through some of their January transfer business.
Although it was a blow to lose Alexis Sánchez to Manchester United, Özil has been excited by the arrivals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from United.
Quick GuideArsenal's whirlwind January
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9th It emerges Manchester City have bid £20m for Alexis Sánchez
11th Manchester United enter the race for Sánchez and a swap with Henrikh Mkhitaryan is mooted. Francis Coquelin joins Valencia
15th Arsenal confident they can get Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Will Olivier Giroud be part of a deal?
17th Theo Walcott signs for Everton
22nd Sánchez-Mkhitaryan swap goes through
28th Chelsea step up Giroud chase
31st Aubameyang arrives for £56m, Giroud heads to Chelsea for £18m, Mesut Özil agrees a new contract
Arsenal say that Özil has not yet signed the new deal but there is an expectation on their side that an announcement is not too far away.