Arsenal received a late offer from Qatar to transfer Mesut Özil on deadline day, but they ended up turning it down.

The English media report that Özil had a deadline day offer from Qatar to think about. Interestingly, the Mirror and 90Min both report slightly different versions of the story as exclusives.

The Mirror claim Arsenal received the late offer, and both Özil and Arteta would have been willing to listen. But there wasn’t enough time to secure a replacement, so the club turned it down.

90Min tell a different story. They claim Özil could well have left if not for Arteta stepping in to block the move. Their report puts the credit for keeping the German around squarely on Arteta’s shoulders.

Regardless of whether Arteta or ‘the club’ made the final call, Özil obviously didn’t leave. It’s interesting to see the bids start to come in for him though, ahead of the summer transfer window.

Despite the 31-year-old’s comments that he plans to see out his Arsenal contract, it does seem possible he might leave this summer. With a year left on his deal, this is the club’s last chance to cash in. They might not be so keen to see him run down the clock.