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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Uche Amako

Details emerge of Saudi club's failed Mesut Ozil pursuit including cut-price Arsenal offer

Arsenal star Mesut Ozil was reportedly the subject of a £5million offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr but rejected the move to the Middle East.

Ozil has entered the final year of his contract with the Gunners and he will not be offered a new deal as the club looks to find a way to get his £350,000-a-week salary off the wage books.

Since the football resumed in June, Ozil has not made an appearance for the club despite being fit and available to feature.

And as it stands, manager Mikel Arteta has no plans to use the German playmaker and continues to be content with not including him.

(Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

But despite his current position, Ozil is adamant he will remain at Arsenal until next summer when his contract expires.

In the summer, Al-Nassr were said to have offered Ozil a deal worth $20m (£15m) per year.

And now TyC Sports claim Al-Nassr returned with a two-year contract offer but Ozil informed them that his stance had not changed and he will stay with Arsenal until 2021.

Meanwhile, Ozil's former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes Arteta can still get something out of the 31-year-old.

(Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

He told German publication Der Spiegel: "He wasn't exactly the one with the greatest discipline on the pitch.

"And playing the game without the ball wasn't exactly his forte.

"But you can deal with that if you put some more defensively minded players by his side.

"The main thing is to get the balance between attack and defence right.

"Players have lost their technical quality over the past ten years.

"Athleticism has become more important than technique and decision making.

"It's more about physical characteristics and intensity, about explosiveness. And it's also about being a showman."

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