Arsene Wenger Admits Arsenal Will Have To Spend Big On Mesut Ozil's Planned New Contract

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger appears to have admitted that the Gunners will have to spend big in order to tie star man Mesut Ozil down to a new contract as his future at the Emirates continues to be the subject of speculation, 90min reports.

It is widely rumoured that Ozil wants a new deal worth £200,000-per-week, the first player at the Emirates to reach that kind of wage and a £60,000 increase on his current salary.

And while Wenger has suggested that the World Cup winner doesn’t need ‘convincing’ to stay, a source has told the Daily Mirror that Ozil ‘knows his market value’.

Quizzed on the subject by the media in the wake of Arsenal’s 3-2 weekend win over Swansea, Wenger commented,

“I don’t think he needs convincing. He wants to stay here. But if you have a good bank, call me.

“It’s not just money. Arsenal can win titles of course. But that’s what we have to show. We are in a League where – Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea – everybody fights and you cannot guarantee that to anybody.

“We keep [negotiations] discreet. At due time we will come out with that. We want to keep our best players, of course. But the more I say that, the more he is in a stronger position!”

Ozil led the Premier League in assists last season but has started this season in fine form in front of goal himself, scoring three times in seven appearances. That’s already half of his league goal tally for the whole of the 2015/16 campaign.

Arsenal moved into second place in the table after the weekend’s action, level on points with Manchester City after the Swansea victory was the Gunners’ sixth in a row.