Breaking: Arsenal superstar says his preference is to sign new contract – Not Sanchez

Arsenal star Mesut Özil says his preference would “definitely” be to sign a new deal at Arsenal. The former Real Madrid midfielder is into the final year of his £140,000-weekly contract and, in the absence of bids from any European heavyweight clubs who could meet his wage demands, the German is willing to remain at the Emirates Stadium for the upcoming league season.

The bigger issue has been if the Özil, will renew his contract at the North London club he joined from Spanish giant Real Madrid for £42.5m back in 2013. With one of his options being to hold on until January 2018 to see whether he gets a mouth-watering pre-contract offer from a foreign club relating to a free agent transfer in the summer.

The Gunners, though, have worked round the clock to put forward an attractive offer of their own, which is worth about £280,000 weekly. So far it has stalled, with the Germany International midfielder willing to keep his options open ahead of the new season.

Özil said at Arsenal’s launch of their new third kit in Sydney, Australia, “It is definitely my preference to stay,” “It (Arsenal) is such a great club, and I (Ozil) have always said that I (Ozil) feel very good at Arsenal. Once everyone is back home in London, we will sit down and talk about the future.