Unai Emery Rules Out Mesut Ozil Leaving Arsenal Before European Transfer Deadline

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has confirmed Mesut Ozil will stay at the club this season and will not leave the Gunners in a late move before the European transfer

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has confirmed Mesut Ozil will stay at the club this season and will not leave the Gunners in a late move before the European transfer window closes at the start of next week.

Ozil has struggled to find his best form since signing a new long-term contract in 2018, although rumours linking the former Germany international with an exit have lacked substance.

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The 30-year-old is yet to feature at all so far this season, increasing the speculation that he could be shown the door before 2 September, but Emery has ruled out the possibility.

“We are not speaking about the possibility he could leave,” Emery said when he was directly asked at a press conference if Ozil might go, via Arsenal.com.

“We’ve finished our transfer window and in Europe it’s going to finish on Monday. We cannot sign another player but we have some players who have the possibility to leave before the window closes. The club is working and some players know their situation. My focus and the team's focus is for the game on Sunday and being very concentrated on Sunday.”

Those who still have the possibility to leave are fringe midfielder Mohamed Elneny, linked with Fenerbahce and Besiktas in Turkey, and out of favour defender Shkodran Mustafi.

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Emery publicly urged both players to leave Arsenal last week, explaining that neither is part of his plans this season and must go elsewhere in order to play football.

“I want the players to be happy here, I want the players to be protagonists here, and last year, for example, with Mustafi and Mo, when they didn’t play, they weren't happy,” the boss said.

Versatile defender Nacho Monreal could also leave before Monday’s deadline, with a move to La Liga side Real Sociedad still on the cards for the long-serving 33-year-old.