Mesut Özil is being linked for an Arsenal exit after his absence in Sunday’s North London derby, but are the stories reliable, and who could Unai Emery sign to replace him if so?
1The Latest
In the last few days, a rumour has been doing the rounds that Özil could be on the way out of Arsenal, with Inter Milan his next destination. The likes of The Guardian, the Daily Mail, the Daily Star and Sky Sports have all reported on it, but the original story comes from an ‘exclusive’ by The S*n.
The truth of the matter is most likely that The S*n were looking for clicks in whatever way possible, as usual, and Özil missing the North London derby was the perfect time for them to put out a story like this.
Never mind that the club are saying he’s suffered a back spasm, and we have multiple previous examples of the 30-year-old having the same back problems with Arsenal and with Germany. According to The S*n, that’s just a cover-up.
Regardless, it would be wise for Arsenal to think about who they could bring in to replace Özil. Right now, the squad is pretty thin on creative attacking midfielders, so much so that even if the German stays for the next few seasons they’ll still need to sign a reinforcement for the matches he misses.
If the playmaker does end up wanting out, that only makes Arsenal’s need more desperate. They’d be better off signing a replacement sooner rather than later when they’re forced into it. Let’s have a look at possible replacements they’ve already been linked with.
Click ‘Next’ for 5 Arsenal-linked Mesut Özil replacements