Arsenal: Mesut Ozil Agrees to Terminate Contract

Arsenal and Mesut Ozil have reach an agreement to terminate his Gunners contract.

A story that has snowballed progressively since the beginning of the year looks set to reach its inevitable conclusion in this month, as Mesut Ozil prepares to leave Arsenal six months ahead of his contract expiring.

Not selected for either the Premier League or Europa League squads, Mikel Arteta has made it clear he has no intention of playing Ozil for the remainder of his time in north London as he does not feature in his plans.

The decision caused uproar around the fanbase, with Ozil’s dedicated followers stunned by him being ostracised from the squad. Nonetheless, Arteta has no plans to reintroduce the German back into the side for the second half of the season and the 32-year-old has decided to leave in search of regular football.

That club will be Fenerbahce, a side Ozil and his family have a strong affiliation with. Talks between the player and club have progressed over the course of months, if not years, and he is in near total agreement on the move there.

However, his contract with Arsenal have proven to be the sticky point, with discussions underway to find a solution to the remaining £7m he is owed by the Gunners.

As per The Athletic, there has been a major breakthrough in negotiations on that front, with Ozil willing to terminate his contract early, an agreement found in principle.

Arsenal have been desperate to get his astronomical £350k-per-week wages off their wage bill as well as free up space in the squad for new additions, thus the agreement will be music to north London ears. Namely, Arteta.

The Spaniard wants to reshape his squad and undergo a considerable overhaul of the team, one that has already began with Matt Macey leaving permanently and Sead Kolasinac joining Schalke 04 on a free transfer.

Sokratis is expected to leave this window too and others could follow, opening the door for a creative midfielder and a right-sided centre-back to make their way to the Premier League as the rebuild takes shape.

Ozil’s departure would be ideal for Arteta in terms of squad space and finance, and is expected to be wrapped up this weekend as Ozil flies to Turkey to finalise the deal.