Mesut Ozil has ruled out the possibility of leaving Arsenal before the end of his contract.
The playmaker has been limited to just two appearances across all competitions this season by manager Unai Emery, playing a total of just 142 minutes of football.
Despite Emery’s reluctance to play Ozil – often leaving him out of matchday squads entirely – he named the 31-year-old has one of his five club captains.
The German’s limited game-time has led to speculation that Arsenal would try to move him on, either in the January transfer window or next summer.
However, Ozil has dismissed the possibility of a premature departure, telling The Athletic: “I have a contract until the summer of 2021 and I will be staying until then.
“When I signed the new deal, I thought about it very carefully and said it was one of the most important decisions of my footballing career. I didn’t want to stay for just one or two more years, I wanted to commit my future to Arsenal and the club wanted me to do the same. You can go through difficult times, like this, but that is no reason to run away and I’m not going to. I’m here until at least 2021.
“I said that Arsene Wenger was a big factor in me joining Arsenal — and he was — but ultimately I signed for the club. Even when Arsene announced he was leaving, I wanted to stay because I love playing for Arsenal and that’s why I’ve been here for six years.
“When I moved from Real Madrid, it was a really tough time for Arsenal. But I always believed in what we could do and together we delivered. More recently things have been difficult and a lot has changed.”
