Here are your Arsenal evening headlines for Thursday July 30.
Mesut Ozil agent provides transfer update
After not playing a single minute since the restart and ostensibly being banished from the first-team set-up by Mikel Arteta, Mesut Ozil is set to see out his £350,000-per-week contract and remain with Arsenal for another season.
That is according to his agent, who said this week that his client will honour his contract with the club despite the present impasse between him and Arteta.
“I do not think there will be a change in the case of Mesut Ozil until the summer of 2021,” Dr Erkut Sogut, Ozil's agent, told Turkish Instagram channel futbolgiant. “He has a contract. There is no change. He will remain in Arsenal.”
Sogut did, however, concede that there is a 90% chance that Ozil will leave the club next summer at the expiration of his current deal. football.london understands that no discussions have taken place regarding a contract extension.
Partey could be denied favourite number
Arsenal target Thomas Partey may have to relinquish his favoured number five shirt should he move to north London this summer because of centre-back Sokratis, who has donned the number since his arrival two years ago.
Partey has worn the number five shirt since the start of the 2017/18 season for Atletico Madrid. He has a £40million release clause and could sign with the Gunners this summer should an agreement be made by the two clubs.
In such an event, however, Sokratis seems set to stay at the Emirates and keep hold of the number five. Per his agent Konstantinos Farras, Sokratis is not set to leave Arsenal this summer, despite the swirling reports claiming that the club is ready to offload him.
“He will stay, I don’t see a reason to leave,” Farras told Star Sports. “I don’t know why everyone is writing wrong and fake news.”
Arsenal target to leave Manchester City
Paul Merson believes that Arsenal target John Stones will leave Manchester City this summer.
“Stones has the potential to be great, he really has, but he needs the confidence," the Gunners legend has said.
90min reported earlier this season that Arsenal could offer the chance for Stones to resurrect his career. The defender has worked with Mikel Arteta before at City and would slot straight into the Arsenal starting XI should he arrive in north London.
With City having had a £41million bid accepted for Nathan Ake and with Eric Garcia moving up the pecking order at the position, Stones could be set to leave the Etihad shortly.
