Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr made a £5m offer to sign Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil, but the German was not interested in the move. Özil, who was left out of the Gunners’ Europa League squad, has repeatedly insisted he wants to stay at the Emirates Stadium and fight for his place in the team, despite Arsenal’s willingness to consider terminating his contract. ALSO READ: Ondo election: I’ll not betray people’s trust, says Akeredolu, as he beats Jegede with 97,039 votes Despite his chances of playing looking incredibly slim, Ozil is seemingly determined to stay. TyC Sports’ César Luis Merlo claims he had the chance to sign a lucrative two-year contract with Al-Nassr, who had a £5m bid for the midfielder accepted, but his refusal to leave saw the move break down. Arsenal are running out of time to find a potential buyer for Ozil. They spent a large part of the summer looking for options, with teams in Turkey and even Major League Soccer considered as potential buyers. ALSO READ:Football: African international results As noted by The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Arsenal’s determination to sell early in the window may have stemmed from the fact that Ozil was due an £8m loyalty bonus at the end of September as a reward for staying at the club, and cash-strapped Arsenal would have liked to have avoided paying that. No buyer came forward and Arsenal were forced to shell out that £8m and that unwanted blow to their finances could well explain why the Gunners’ pursuit of midfielder Thomas Partey on deadline day seemed so frantic and sudden.
