Mesut Ozil has insisted that there is no bad blood between him and Arsenal despite his controversial dismissal from the club.
The 34-year-old, who announced his retirement from professional football earlier this week, spent eight years in north London before his contract was terminated prematurely.
Ozil spent eight years with ArsenalCredit: Getty
In January 2021, he left the club to join Fenerbahce on a free transfer after falling out of favour with Mikel Arteta.
However, Ozil is now keen to put the longstanding feud behind him.
He told Spanish outlet Marca: “The first years [at Arsenal] were very good.
“We played in the Champions League, we had a great team with great players and an incredible coach like Arsene Wenger. After he left the club, many things changed for me.
“But I have no interest in adding fuel to the fire again.”
Ozil even admitted that he would love to see the Gunners lift the Premier League trophy at the end of the season.
He added: “Now I am relaxed and I wish the best to the Arsenal fans, who have always been very supportive of me.
“I would be happy for them if they could celebrate winning the Premier League title. They deserve it.”
Ozil made 254 appearances for Arsenal during his eight-year stint.
During that time he also scored 44 goals, assisted 74 and lifted four FA Cups.
He was highly regarded as one of the club’s best – and most expensive – players prior to his acrimonious departure.
He earned £350,000-a-week at the Emirates – more than any other Arsenal player at the time.
So it came as a shock to many fans when he was ostracised from the first team completely.
