Arsenal hopeful Mesut Ozil will extend contract after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan transfers

James Olley|Simon Johnson22 January 2018

Arsenal are hopeful that signing both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this month will convince Mesut Ozil to commit to a new contract.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger eventually admitted defeat in his attempts to keep Alexis Sanchez with the 29-year-old on the brink of joining Manchester United in a deal which will see Mkhitaryan move to Emirates Stadium.

Confirmation of that swap deal is expected by Tuesday once the pair’s work permits have been updated and Arsenal officials have now focused their attention on Aubameyang as talks continue with Borussia Dortmund.

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis, head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and legal expert Huss Fahmy have formed a three-man delegation who travelled to Germany over the weekend to pursue an agreement with Dortmund for the 28-year-old.

Dortmund value Aubameyang at £55million – a figure which would break Arsenal’s club record, currently standing at £52.7m for Alexandre Lacazette – and are interested in taking Olivier Giroud either on loan or permanently as part of any agreement.

Arsenal are confident of landing Aubameyang this month with Wenger believing his acquisition in addition to offsetting Sanchez’s departure by landing Mkhitaryan will be a sufficient show of ambition for Ozil to stay put.

The Germany international is in the final six months of his existing deal and has so far demanded a huge increase on his current £130,000-a-week wage to close to £300,000-a-week.

The staggering numbers involved in Sanchez’s move to Old Trafford – involving a contract worth an initial £350,000-a-week plus image rights and bonuses and a signing-on fee of more than £15m – is an example of the riches on offer elsewhere but Wenger sincerely believes the Gunners have a fighting chance of keeping him.

Whereas Sanchez has become a troublesome figure behind the scenes as he agitated to move, there have been fewer concerns in this regard with Ozil, despite the fact the majority of interest in him as come from overseas clubs with whom he has been free to talk to directly since January 1.

Inter Milan and Juventus are among the clubs to have expressed an interest although Barcelona’s involvement has receded since the Catalan giants signed Philippe Coutinho for £146m from Liverpool.

Ozil excelled in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace and has not suffered the same dip in form as Sanchez this term.

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