28-year-old Arsenal star reportedly tells club he wants to leave for free next summer

Germany international Mesut Özil will leave North London club Arsenal for free at the end of this season, as per latest reports in Germany.

According to German Publication SportBild via Mirror, talks have broken down, and Mesut Özil has opted to leave the North London club.

This latest development would come as a total turnaround from the BBC interview the 28-year-old midfield maestro gave back in July, where he stated: “It is my preference to stay (remain at Arsenal).”

This will also be a major blow to the North London club if Mesut Özil opts not to renew his deal or even negotiate a new contract. Chile international Alexis Sanchez already looks to be on the way out of the Emirates Stadium, so the Gunners could be ready to lose both star players for free at this point.

More to the point, while Alexis Sanchez’s goals can be somewhat internally replaced, as we saw at the weekend against AFC Bournemouth, there’s not been much evidence that other midfielders in the team can match the German’s creativity.

In fact, the former Real Madrid star has created the most chances and has provided the most assists in the entire English Premier League since he joined back in 2013/14. That kind of player is always going to be hard to replace, especially if you have no cash coming in.