Should Mesut Ozil have an afternoon free over the coming weeks, you sense that Arsene Wenger might encourage him to visit the Emirates Stadium. Not to take a look inside a venue where he will on Sunday attempt to continue his sudden goalscoring surge but to walk around the perimeter.
There, enshrined to immortality, he will find statues of three legendary former players: Thierry Henry, Tony Adams and Dennis Bergkamp. Their on-field feats have been well documented but Wenger pointedly stressed last night that they only achieved such status by sticking with Arsenal through a combined 41 years.Ozil has now been at Arsenal for three seasons but is himself approaching a crossroads. Does he refuse the offer of a new contract in search of a bigger pay-day and arguably platform elsewhere, or does he re-commit and give what should be his best years to Arsenal? Could he then become a club legend?“I think so,” said Wenger. “I think if he commits. Dennis Bergkamp committed for a long period and played until he was 38. To become a legend at the club you need to stay for a long time. If you stay two years, you would not be a legend. I wish we have 10 more years of Ozil.”It is a sentiment that would be echoed by just about every supporter – especially those who were in Sofia on Tuesday to see his sublime Champions League winner - but which also reveals some of the arguments that Wenger is likely to have used in contract negotiations. Wenger ultimately believes that on-field fulfilment rather than money will be the deciding factor.
“I hope he is happy,” he said. “It looks to me. He pushes himself much more. Sometimes the trap for very talented players is it is easy for them. They know subconsciously they don't need to push themselves too hard to be efficient. It's so easy. A player needs to meet his needs inside a club. It is difficult not to be happy in London. I believe that the happiness of a player out by his performance.” Read more
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