Harry Diamond
Mikel Arteta has offered an update on Mesut Ozil’s transfer to Fenerbahce with the midfielder’s Arsenal exit yet to be finalised.
Ozil is on the verge of completing a move to the Turkish side after coming to an agreement with Arsenal set to terminate the remaining months on his contract, the German having been ostracised this season and left out of the Gunners’ squads for their Premier League and Europa League campaign.
Arsenal confirmed the termination of defender Sokratis’ contract yesterday but there has yet been no formal announcement on Ozil, despite a number of social media posts from the player regarding his exit.
Arteta has now revealed that Turkey’s quarantine rules have held up the completion of the deal, insisting there are still steps that need to be taken before an official announcement can be made.
“Yeah but the quarantine situation is making that final step the longest ever because they have a lot of restrictions there.
“There are things that have to be done before announcing anything. I think everything seems to be going okay, but I cannot say definitely what is going to happen, so as soon as we can, don’t worry, we will mention it.”
Arteta also opened up on the decision to allow Ozil to leave the club this month, admitting the situation had to be ‘resolved’ with the highest-paid player in the club’s history out-of-favour at the Emirates.
Touchdown in Istanbul… 🛬🇹🇷💛💙 #tb pic.twitter.com/GrWffDta27
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 19, 2021
“Yes, for many different reasons [it was a tough decision]… there is a history here what happened in the past few years, how things developed, how I think the team should evolve for the future, and his position at the club.
“A player with such an importance that is not playing, that is not in the squad, it is a really difficult situation to sustain for both parties because the player wants to play and we cannot give him the minutes.
“Obviously that situation has to be resolved.”
Arsenal’s focus this month has been on trimming a bloated squad with the likes of Sead Kolasinac and Sokratis having already departed, with the Gunners’ attentions now turning to incomings after freeing up further funds.
Martin Odegaard has this week been linked with a move to the north London side amid speculation an approach for the Norway international has been made, the 22-year-old keen to leave Real Madrid on loan in search of first-team football.
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