Juventus have been offered the chance to sign Mesut Özil in January with Arsenal subsidising his wages, according to a report.

Italian outlet Tuttosport (via InsideFutbol) claim Juventus have been offered the chance to sign Mesut Özil in the winter window, making contact with the player’s entourage.

Arsenal are willing to let the player leave for free on a six-month loan to the end of his contract, even paying a portion of his salary over that period.

The two potential sticking points are Juventus and the player himself. There’s no indication over whether the Serie A side actually want Özil, and he’s previously been unwilling to leave Arsenal – and London – even if it means he can’t play.

We’re a few days away from the club having to make some kind of decision on Özil. If they have no plans to use him at all, they need to inform him of that and work with him to find a transfer before the end of January.

If they want to reintegrate him for the last six months of his deal, they need to find buyers for other players to free up squad space.

A couple of months ago, it looked certain Özil would never play for Arsenal again. However, their recent form has been so bad that it’s not impossible to imagine a final reprieve.

That’s particularly the case after the team played so much better with Emile Smith Rowe starting at 10 on Saturday.

Right now, Smith Rowe is pretty much the only player in the squad who can play that role, so if Arteta wants to stick with that system, he might need Özil as a rotation option.