Juventus decline opportunity to approach for Mesut Ozil

Serie A giants Juventus are understood to have snubbed an approach from the representative of Mesut Ozil regarding a potential transfer away from the Emirates Stadium. The former Germany international has been going through a rough phase at Arsenal under the guidance of manager Unai Emery and he has not featured for the Gunners over the past five matches with selection and fitness issues.

Amidst this, he has been linked with a potential winter departure from the north London giants but it appears that Juventus would certainly not be making an approach after snubbing the advances of Ozil’s entourage earlier in the week, Calciomercato reports. It is added that the Bianconeri have knocked back the advances at the final instant and the decision has come about from the midfielder’s issues on and off the pitch during the ongoing campaign.

Ozil had been regularly associated with a Gunners exit during the first half of the previous campaign after the club struggled to come to terms with a renewed contract with him. However, with the departure of Alexis Sanchez midway through the season, the north Londoners were apparently reluctant to lose Ozil on a free in six months’ time and this eventually saw them bow to the player’s demands for a club-record salary.

The German has since produced mixed performances in the club’s shirt with his struggles on the road remaining a concern, and of late, Emery has brought up an issue regarding his workrate which was the prime reason behind him remaining an unused substitute during the Premier League clash at Bournemouth following the international break.

Despite this, there has been no indication from the German via any channel that he is seeking for a potential exit from the Capital outfit and the media seems to be trying to unsettle him when that does not clearly appear the case. Ozil could play some role for the Gunners on Thursday night against Qarabag in the Europa League after recovering from his nagging back problem which has kept him out of action since November 11.

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