No! You can’t force me out, Ozil tells Arsenal

Mesut Ozil insists he is going nowhere despite Arsenal’s attempts to force him out of the club.

The German winger still has 12 months remaining on his £350,000-a-week contract but has been frozen out under Mikel Arteta.

In order to try and get him off the wage bill, the Gunners are believed to have offered him an £18m pay-off to rip up his deal.

However, despite links with a move to Turkey, the 31-year-old has told The Athletic he is going nowhere.

Ozil said: “My position is clear. I’m here through to the last day of our agreement and I’ll give everything I have for this club.

“Situations like these will never break me, they only make me stronger.

“I showed in the past that I can come back into the team and I will show it again.”

Despite rumours of the large pay-off offer, the £42.5m signing from Real Madrid in 2013 is determined he will not be forced out.

Ozil continued: “I’ll decide when I go, not other people.

“I didn’t sign for two or three years, I signed for four and that should be respected by everyone.

“Things have obviously been difficult but I love Arsenal, I love to work there, I love the people in the club — the real people, those I’ve been with for a long time — and I love London, it’s my home.

“Whatever happened in the last two seasons, I’m happy and very strong mentally.

“I never give up on anything. I want to help my team and I’ll fight for it. If I’m fit, I know what I can do on the pitch.”

Ozil last appeared for Arsenal on March 7 and despite being fit, he was left out by Arteta following the season’s restart in June.

And he was not even present at Wembley to watch the club lift the FA Cup after victory over Chelsea.

Due to the financial impact of the coronavirus, the majority of the Arsenal squad agreed to a pay-cut to help ease the pressure.

However, Ozil was one of the players who refused to do so, a move that has been met with fierce criticism – especially since the club announced a number of redundancies earlier this month.

But he said: “I can’t talk about my private conversations with the coach, but I can tell you I know my body well.

“My daughter was born while we were off so maybe I was not always sleeping perfectly, but this is normal.

“I actually had more energy and excitement to play because of her.”

He added: “I fully respect the coach’s decision but I believe these things should mainly be decided on the pitch.

“After the restart, I wasn’t given a chance to show what I can do.

“You don’t play 10 games in a row if you’re unfit, not good enough or don’t behave well.

“If I played these games badly and was then left out completely for that reason then I might understand, but this was not the case.”

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