The Gunners’ highest-paid player hasn’t played in almost an entire year and will be out of contract in the summer.
Mikel Arteta will make a final decision on whether to bring Mesut Ozil back into the Arsenal squad at the end of the January transfer window.
The 32-year-old, who hasn’t played since March last year, was left out of Arteta’s squad for the first half of the 2020/21 campaign. His absence has coincided with the club’s poor start, prompting calls for the manager to recall him.
Despite his contract expiring in June, along with his unhappiness over his treatment, Ozil has reiterated his desire to pull on the Gunners jersey again before his time in north London runs out in the summer.
Mikel Arteta on registering Mesut Ozil in January: “We will see what happens in the transfer window and we will assess that at the end.” pic.twitter.com/6OMHghowsY
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) January 2, 2021
Yet, in a pre-match conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Brom, Arteta remained coy on plans to restore his former teammate.
“We will see what happens in the transfer window and we will assess at the end of that,” said Arteta as quoted on the Mirror.
There have been rumors linking Ozil with a January exit to Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Italian champions Juventus amid Arsenal’s alleged attempts to offload the German and his £350,000-per-week salary.
“You have to respect the player’s contract,” continued Arteta.
“What you can do is try to be open with them and tell them your intentions, the role they have in the team and why that is.
“At the end, they are entitled to make the decision in their lives because they have a contract here.
“Some would like to move because they are not playing, and some would like to stay.
“At the end, that is something we cannot decide.”
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, meanwhile, has agreed to join Schalke on loan for the final six months of his Arsenal contract.
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