Arsene Wenger has hinted Mesut Ozil will leave Arsenal for nothing when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Ozil has entered the final year of his existing deal and is yet to agree terms on an extension.
The Germany international was widely expected to leave Arsenal this summer but the 28-year-old has failed to find any suitors willing to match his staggering wage demands, coupled with the fee Arsenal would want.
Arsenal are also trying to negotiate a new contract for Alexis Sanchez but Wenger has hinted Ozil’s ship has sailed and he will be free to leave on a free next summer.
“Yes, I think in the future you will see it more and more,” The Daily Telegraph quote Wenger as saying when asked whether Ozil was happy to enter the final 12 months of his contract.
“Why? Because the transfers are so high even for normal players, you will see more and more players going into the final year of the contract because no club will want to pay the amount demanded. I’m convinced in the next 10 years it will become usual.”
Arsenal made Ozil the most expensive player in the club’s history when they paid Real Madrid £42.4m back in 2013 and the Gunners have only just broken that fee this summer, shelling out more than £50m to sign Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette.
In the last four Premier League campaigns Ozil has registered at least four more assists than any other player (42).