The Metro have decided to take some perfectly innocent comments from Mesut Ozil and twist them to mean that he wants to leave Arsenal.

• Ozil has 15 months left on his current Arsenal deal
• Ozil has 52 assists for Arsenal in all competitions since joining in 2013
• The German international has always said he’s happy at the club

Speaking to SportBild, the playmaker admitted that his family would probably like to see him return to Germany because, you know, being his family and all, they would quite like to see him more often. That’s it.

“I don’t want to exclude [a potential move back to Germany],” he said.

“Many family members – my mother especially – would welcome it if I were closer to home.

“I still have a year on my contract and I love… this club [Arsenal]. At the moment, everything is still open.”

As you can see, nothing even remotely suggesting that his family want him to leave Arsenal specifically, just that they would like to see him move closer to home at some point. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find families who don’t want their loved ones by their side.

However, according to Metro this was Ozil basically saying that his family want him to leave Arsenal without any context to his comments at all. And he didn’t even mention ‘this summer’.

What’s more is that Ozil actually went on to say how much he loves Arsenal and not for the first time. In fact, the 28-year-old has always maintained that he adores London and the club.

Arsenal love-in

Let’s see, back in September 2016, the German claimed that he’s “very, very happy” at Arsenal.

“I am very, very happy there. The city is alive, outstanding. Have you ever been there?” he said.

“It is unfortunately very expensive, but the city is outstanding, there is always something going on, things to do when it’s time for the family to visit.

“And the league is in my opinion the strongest league in the world, because it is so balanced.

“I’m just happy to be there and to play for Arsenal. I have always been lucky enough to play in play strong teams, in which, so to speak a little bit can be cast.That makes a lot of fun.

“I recently read that I hadn’t stayed anywhere longer than three years.

“At Arsenal I am now going into my fourth year. That says a lot.

“And the TV money will be invested, it is even more interesting.”

Then, in November 2016, Ozil, explained why Arsenal was always his first choice, saying, “I spoke with Wenger and he wanted me at Arsenal. I said ‘if I get the opportunity to change clubs, you’ll be the first [choice]’.

“So we spoke and I decided to come. I remember [Thierry] Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires – such great players – and I wanted to be a part of them.

“My first and second year we won the FA Cup. I really enjoy playing for such a big club like Arsenal.”

Earlier in March, Ozil once again claimed that he’s happy in north London, saying to Bild,

“I’ve always said I feel happy at Arsenal: the club, the fans, the city – it’s all here.

“Arsene Wenger was one of the main reasons why I came to Arsenal but it would be wrong to say that my future depends only on the trainer.”

I think you get the idea…

Ozil has recovered from the back problem he suffered with on international duty and should feature against Manchester City on Sunday.