Arsenal: Mesut Ozil admission only muddies the waters

Arsene Wenger has stated that he believes Mesut Ozil wants to stay at Arsenal, confirming that talks are making progress, and muddying the waters of an already unclear and ambiguous situation.

The contract crisis that Arsenal find themselves in — I say ‘find’, but it’s not as if this was an unforeseeable predicament — is not going to end anytime soon. Arsene Wenger has committed himself to that much when he chose not to sell Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere et al. in the summer.

And during the international break, the centre of attention was Ozil, who has, peculiarly, dropped in and out of the squad with a rather odd inflammation to his knee. That has led to many questioning his desire to stay, suggesting that he will leave as soon as the January transfer window.

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The issue has been that the doubt and uncertainty have festered due to the lack of availability for questioning because of the international break. That was, until Thursday morning, when Wenger took to his pre-match press conference before the weekend’s match against Watford. And during the press conference, he was asked whether reports that contract talks with Ozil were going well. This is what he had to say:

"“That is my understanding. The fact we didn’t agree last year doesn’t mean he wants to leave. Both players look happy and overall I hope the situation can be turned round, but at the moment we are not close enough to announce anything. Talks are going well.”"

Promising things to hear, right? Absolutely. Unfortunately, though, in the very same press conference, Wenger, when asked about the possibility of selling Ozil and Sanchez in January to scrape the last bit of value for either player, admitted that it is possible:

"“Once you are in our kind of situation you have envisaged every solution, yes. It’s possible.”"

So, what’s the deal? Are Ozil and Arsenal closing in on a new deal, or is a January sale becoming an increasing possibility?

Ultimately, from the external perspective that us fans have, we know very little. Football is a secretive and private business. Much of what happens does so behind closed doors, never revealed to the public, hidden from the newspapaers, protecting those involved in the deal.

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And this is another one of those cases. We know very little when it comes to the psyche of Ozil, the offer that has or has not been made, the desires of Wenger and the club to keep him, and the existence of potential suitors. These comments only muddy the waters, waters that were not especially clear in the first place.

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