Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 7y

Arsenal's Arsene Wenger: My future not a factor in Ozil, Sanchez talks

LONDON -- Arsene Wenger does not think his own future at Arsenal will have an effect on whether star duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will sign contract extensions with the club.

Ozil and Sanchez both have less than two years left on their current Gunners contracts but negotiations to extend those deals have proven tricky, with neither player committing their long-term futures yet.

Wenger is in the final year of his contract and has insisted that he will not decide on his own future until towards the end of the season, leaving a sense of uncertainty over who will be the manager at Arsenal next term.

"No, I don't say that [my own status is connected to their contract talks]. I feel that they are happy at the club," Wenger said at a news conference ahead of Saturday's Premier League game against Middlesbrough. "And I want them to commit to the club because they believe they are in the right place."

Ozil and Sanchez have been in great form over the last two months, spearheading an attack that has led Arsenal to seven straight victories in all competitions.

Ozil has scored six goals already this season -- including a hat trick in the 6-0 win against Ludogorets Razgrad on Wednesday -- after netting eight last term. Sanchez, meanwhile, has six goals and five assists after being deployed as a central striker this season.

Wenger was criticised by some pundits for resting Ozil -- along with Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud -- at the start of the season after their Euro 2016 campaigns, but he said the German playmaker's form since his return has proven that decision was correct.

"I think so, because I have a lot of experience on that front," he said. "I managed players who go to the big tournaments for a long, long time. And I gave even a longer break to Sanchez [five weeks after the Copa America]. I believe it took them some time to get back to their best, but it was the right decision."

Ozil's goal-scoring form represents a big change for the German, who is known more as a creator for others and led the Premier League with 19 assists last season.

He only recorded his first assist of this campaign against Ludogorets, but has consistently been getting into more scoring positions, with Wenger attributing the change to a different mindset.

"I believe that every player gets in the habit of having a game, and a vision of his game, and sometimes doesn't get out of the boundaries that he has fixed for himself," Wenger said. "[Ozil] experienced his game as a provider and I think slowly he's getting the taste to think, oh maybe I can finish as well.

"And that's what you want him to do, to add that to his game, because there is no reason why he should not finish and score. And hopefully the fact that he scored again on Wednesday will give him that taste and that desire."

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