ARSENAL are back in action this weekend as they begin the defence of the FA Cup against Newcastle.
On the transfer front, the Gunners are reportedly set to offload Mesut Ozil to Fenerbahce according to reports in Turkey.
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Follow all the latest from the Emirates below…
- Gary Stonehouse
MORNING, ARSENAL FANS
Arsenal fear Fenerbahce target Mesut Ozil will sit out the last 25 weeks of his £350,000-a-week contract.
The outcast ex-Germany midfielder, 32, is due to get £8.75MILLION by the end of June – as his agreement includes a hefty ‘loyalty bonus’.
Yet reports in Turkey claim Fenerbahce have agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract worth £90k each week.
DC United have also been linked with Ozil for the new MLS season in March.
Meanwhile, the Gunners are said to be upset with Atletico Madrid using loanee Lucas Torreira so sparingly.
The Uruguay midfielder, 24, has played just 11 games this term, with just two La Liga starts.
And Libertad Digital even suggest Arsenal are wondering if Atletico are playing Torreira infrequently in the hope of a lower transfer fee.
Gunners and Spurs target Marcel Sabitzer could reportedly be available for “£30million or less” in the summer.
But The Athletic say RB Leipzig are highly unlikely to sell heir skipper and midfielder, 26, before the end of the campaign.
- Ian Tuckey
GUNNERS FEAR OZIL WILL SNUB JANUARY EXIT
Arsenal fear they will be stuck with Mesut Ozil until the very last day of his contract despite him being linked with a January move.
The out-of-favour midfielder, 32, still has 25 weeks of his Gunners contract to run, which means he is due to collect £8.75MILLION between now and the end of June.
And the way his agreement is structured means he will also be due a hefty ‘loyalty bonus’ if he is still at the club when his huge £350,000-a-week deal expires.
All of which has convinced the Arsenal hierarchy that Ozil will hang around until he has collected every penny due to him.
Reports in Turkey claim Fenerbahce have agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the German worth £90,000 a week.
But the Super Lig club are £275m in debt and have already asked fans to donate towards their wage bill. The £42.5m signing has also been linked with a move to join DC United in time for the new MLS season in March.
- Ian Tuckey
MACEY CLOSE TO HIBS DEAL
Arsenal keeper Matt Macey will reportedly have a medical before joining Hibs.
The former Accrington, Luton and Plymouth loanee, 26, has never played a first-team game for the Gunners.
And the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel tweeted the latest development over Macy having checks before moving north.
- Ian Tuckey
TORRE DE FARCE
Arsenal are said to be upset with Atletico Madrid using loanee Lucas Torreira so sparingly.
The Uruguay midfielder, 24, has played just 11 games this term, with just two La Liga starts and four Champions League appearances.
And Libertad Digital via the Daily Mail, even suggest the Gunners are wondering if Atletico are playing Torreira infrequently in the hope of eventually negotiating a lower transfer fee.
- Ian Tuckey
ONE THIERR WORTH HAVING!
Arsenal have recalled the brief but famous re=signing of one of their all-time great strikers eight years.
The 2003-4 Invincible returned for four games on loan from the New York Red Bulls, having also spent three years away with Barcelona.
- Ian Tuckey
OZIL AGENT: HE COULD LEAVE
Mesut Ozil's agent has confirmed the out-of-favour Arsenal midfielder 'might go' as transfer speculation intensifies.
Reports in Turkey today claimed the £350,000-a-week German World Cup winner had signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Fenerbahce.
Only a day earlier Football.London claimed that MLS side DC United have offered the 32-year-old an 'attractive' package to join the club, with negotiations at an 'advanced stage'.
Now his agent has admitted for the first time that the player could indeed leave before his deal runs out in the summer.
Speaking to ESPN, Dr Erkut Sogut said: "We were not allowed to talk legally before January 1 so now we are just starting to look at the options with the numbers and details.
"He might stay at Arsenal until the summer but he might go. Mesut's priority is to stay but you never know in football, things can change very fast.
"If we want to leave in January, I need to talk to Arsenal. If we sign for the summer, we don't need to. In the next seven to 10 days, it will be a little clearer as now the transfer window is open, things can move faster."
- Ian Tuckey
JANUARY SALES
The January transfer window is in full swing with plenty of arrivals expected before deadline day on February 2.
However, Premier League clubs will also be looking to balance the books by offloading their unwanted players this winter and there’s plenty of high-profile talents on offer.
Here, SunSport take a closer look at each club’s most likely January departure according to bookmakers Paddy Power.
- Ian Tuckey
GUNNERS 'DUEL SPURS FOR SABITZER'
Arsenal target Marcel Sabitzer could be available for "£30million or less" in the summer, according to reports.
The Gunners are believed to have joined Spurs in the race for the RB Leipzig skipper and midfielder, 26.
The Athletic say the Bundesliga title chasers are very unlikely to sell him this month.
But if the North London duo can wait until the summer, they may be able to land themselves a bargain.
Sabitzer's contract expires in June 2022.
And Leipzig could be willing to let the 26-year-old go for £30m or less at the end of the season, if he is unwilling to pen a new deal.
- Ian Tuckey
OZ MAN OUT?
Mesut Ozil looks set to finally end his Arsenal turmoil with Fenerbahce the standout favourites to secure his signature.
That's according to bookmakers Betfair, who have emphatically slashed their odds on Ozil joining the Turkish heavyweights in January.
The 32-year-old was priced at 11/4 to join Fenerbahce towards the end of December, but is now firmly odds-on at 1/9.
The shift in odds is linked to Turkish broadcaster NTVSpo's claims that a three-and-a-half-year deal has been agreed between the two parties.
Ozil next club odds – Betfair
- Fenerbahce – 1/9
- Any MLS Club – 12/1
- Besiktas – 25/1
- Galatasaray – 40/1
- AC Milan – 40/1
- Inter Milan – 50/1
- Ian Tuckey
SWANS ARE FRIENDS OF FO
Swansea are reportedly looking to sign Arsenal wonderkid Folarin Balogun on loan this month.
The Mail claims the 19-year-old striker could spent the rest of the season in the Championship after only making his senior Gunners debut in October.
Swansea are second in the table and ready to give Balogun regular minutes until the end of the campaign. But his long-term future remains far from certain.
Balogun already has two goals in five appearances under Mikel Arteta. And he is seen as one of the brightest prospects to emerge from Arsenal’s academy in years.
However, Balogun is out of contract this summer, and reports claim he is now likely to leave on a free transfer after negotiations stalled last month.
Champions Liverpool are said to be keen on Balogun after signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from the Emirates in 2017.
Sheffield United are interested after having a bid rejected by Arsenal last summer.
And Balogun is already said to have snubbed a £5million offer from Carabao Cup semi-finalists Brentford.
- Ian Tuckey
ANOTHER FEN MES…
IF Mesut Ozil does land a three-year deal with Fenerbahce, his Arsenal stats on the feld ended on a high.
The ex-Germany midfielder, 32, frozen out since March, was not known as a king of assists for nothing…
- Ian Tuckey
GUNNERS ARE PRO KWO
YOUNG Arsenal stopper Arthur Okonkwo has been promoted to first-team training ahead of their FA Cup clash with Newcastle.
Boss Mikel Arteta is expected to ring in the changes against Steve Bruce’s men for Saturday’s clash.
And it could mean a first appearance for the 19-year-old keeper.
Icelandic keeper Alex Runarsson is currently Arsenal’s second choice between the sticks but he has failed to impress in his five matches this season.
The 25-year-old made a howler in his last outing when Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick slipped through his hands in the 4-1 EFL Cup defeat.
- supal
WIZARD OF OZ
IT appears that his Arsenal nightmare is over.
Outcast Mesut Ozil, 32, has reportedly agreed his exit out of North London – signing a three-year deal with Fenerbahce.
It's a move that shouldn't come as a surprise given the mercurial playmaker's Turkish roots, and the fact he was frozen out by manager Mikel Arteta.
HERE'S MORE ON HIS TIME AT ARSENAL
- supal
MUY BIEN
NORWICH playmaker Emiliano Buendia has stated it is his dream to return to the Premier League amid interest from Arsenal.
The 24-year-old has been heavily linked with a switch to the Emirates in January, with the Gunners said to be willing to offer cash plus either Joe Willock or Reiss Nelson
Buendia has been a standout player for Daniel Farke's side this term – chipping in with seven goals and six assists in 19 matches.
No other player in Europe has created more chances than the Argentina youth international this season.
The ex-Getafe ace has carved out 62 opportunities for the Championship-topping Canaries.
- supal
POLLS APART
MANCHESTER UNITED will win the Premier League this season, according to SunSport readers.
Jurgen Klopp's reigning champions had opened up a commanding lead atop the table just over two weeks ago after thumping Crystal Palace 7-0 at Selhurst Park.
But the Reds are now winless in their last three games, having most-recently lost to Southampton on the back of draws with Newcastle and West Brom.
- supal
LAC OF RUSH
ARSENAL have told striker Alexandre Lacazette to wait until the summer for contract talks.
Less than two years ago, managing director Vinai Venkatesham said no player would be allowed to enter the final two years of their contract.
But now the club have ditched the policy as unworkable.
And they risk losing French international Lacazette for nothing.
The hitman has less than 18 months to run on the £170,000-a-week deal he signed when he joined in a £52million transfer from Lyon in 2017.
- supal
JANUARY SALES
The January transfer window is in full swing with plenty of arrivals expected before deadline day on February 2.
However, Premier League clubs will also be looking to balance the books by offloading their unwanted players this winter and there’s plenty of high-profile talents on offer.
Here, SunSport take a closer look at each club’s most likely January departure according to bookmakers Paddy Power.
- supal
TRAINING DAY
Arsenal on the Colney training pitches today getting ready for Newcastle in the FA Cup.
- supal
MES MOVING
MESUT OZIL has signed a three-and-half year deal to join Fenerbahce from Arsenal, according to sensational reports in Turkey.
The £350,000-a-week German World Cup winner has not played a second for the Gunners this term.
Mikel Arteta left the 32-year-old winger out of both his Premier League and European squads as he appeared to try and force him out of the Emirates.
Ozil has now entered the final six months of his deal and is free to talk to clubs abroad, with clubs in the MLS and Turkey both linked with the ex-Real Madrid man.
Now reports from DHA in Turkey claim his Arsenal misery is over after he agreed to join Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
- supal
ICYMI
YOUNG Arsenal stopper Arthur Okonkwo has been promoted to first-team training ahead of their FA Cup clash with Newcastle.
Boss Mikel Arteta is expected to ring in the changes against Steve Bruce’s men for Saturday’s clash.
And it could mean a first appearance for the 19-year-old keeper.
Icelandic keeper Alex Runarsson is currently Arsenal’s second choice between the sticks but he has failed to impress in his five matches this season.
The 25-year-old made a howler in his last outing when Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick slipped through his hands in the 4-1 EFL Cup defeat.
- supal
RAMSEY ‘OFFERED TO UTD’ IN POGBA EXCHANGE
Manchester United have reportedly snubbed Juventus offers to part-exchange ex-Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey or Douglas Costa for Paul Pogba.
Juve remain the frontrunners to re-sign Pogba but Old Trafford boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is seemingly content to keep the France star until at least the summer.
Tat means Juve or Real Madrid would have to come up with something special in the January transfer window to land the 27-year-old this month.
Ramsey has never truly settled in Serie A, while fellow 30-year-old, Brazil winger Costa, is on loan at Bayern Munich.
- supal
GUNNING FOR IT
ARSENAL WOMEN are said to be ‘furious’ after a team-mate was hit with Covid-19 following a trip to Dubai over the Christmas break.
The Gunners have requested a postponement of their outing to Aston Villa this Saturday as players self-isolate, according to the Telegraph.
Three of Arsenal Women’s senior international players travelled to Dubai over the festive period, after London moved into Tier 4 restrictions.
One of the aces has since tested positive for coronavirus.
This can have more serious safety implications in the women’s game than the men’s as many of the players are in shared housing.
- William Pugh
JANUARY SALES
The January transfer window is in full swing with plenty of arrivals expected before deadline day on February 2.
However, Premier League clubs will also be looking to balance the books by offloading their unwanted players this winter and there's plenty of high-profile talents on offer.
Here, SunSport take a closer look at each club's most likely January departure according to bookmakers Paddy Power.
- supal
DOUBLE TROUBLE
GENOA are reportedly interested in signing Arsenal outcasts Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi.
Both of the defenders have fallen out of favour under the management of Mikel Arteta this season.
Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Genoa are prepared to offer Sokratis a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Sokratis, 32, played for the Serie A side from 2008 until 2010 before he joined AC Milan.
The source states that the 90-cap Greece international has agreed to a move back to Genoa.
But Turkish giants Fenerbahce are expected to make an offer for him this month.
Olympiacos could also make a move for Mustafi – who joined Arsenal from Dortmund in 2018.
- supal
VIN AND GONE
ARSENAL reportedly remain interested in signing Vinicius Jr this month.
But Real Madrid have no intention of letting him leave, even on loan.
Defensa Central claims Mikel Arteta is still tracking Vinicius Jr after adding him to a transfer shortlist last month.
The winger, 20, has scored three goals in 21 games this season.
But he is yet to fully establish himself as a regular starter in Zinedine Zidane’s team.
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