Arsene Wenger confident Mesut Ozil wants to stay at Arsenal after sublime spell of form for the Gunners
The midfielder has been offered £235,000-a-week to stay at the Emirates after his contract expires
ARSENE WENGER says Mesut Ozil is playing at the peak of his powers — and believes the German wants to stay a Gunner.
Ozil, 29, struck a wonder volley winner against Newcastle on Saturday, a strike keeper Petr Cech compared to Zinedine Zidane’s goal in the 2002 Champions League final for Real Madrid.
The playmaker, who is out of contract at the end of the season, also impressed in last month’s home wins over Tottenham and Huddersfield.
And asked if this was the best he has seen of Ozil in his four years at the Emirates, boss Wenger replied: “Yes. He takes his responsibilities and that is what you want from him.
“He is mature, he guides the team, they are aware he is on the ball a lot.
“Always your heartrate goes down when he has the ball.
“You cannot score a goal like that every week, but you can play like he plays usually every week so that is more important. If he adds that to his game then that is even more important.”
Ozil, who next faces West Ham in the Carabao Cup tomorrow, has been offered a new deal at Arsenal worth around £235,000-a-week but is yet to sign and wants closer to £300,000.
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He can talk to foreign clubs from the start of next month with a view to leaving the Gunners for free in the summer.
But Wenger insisted: “I believe he wants to stay.” Meanwhile, Gunners stopper Cech thinks that Ozil’s current form despite the doubts over his future is a credit to his character.
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Arsenal’s No1 added: “I think if you come under pressure then you want to respond in the right way, which is on the pitch.
“By performing and not talking and everyone can see he is playing well.
“I think sometimes people forget that when you are a player who plays for a top national team then you play every week, play every summer, have a short break and you carry on, carry on, carry on.
“And I think the first few months of the season the fatigue caught up with him.
“You could see he was as not as sharp as he is now which I think he benefits from.”
