Mesut Özil confirms Fenerbahce transfer after Arsenal goodbyes | OneFootball

Mesut Özil will finally end 10 months of Arsenal exile after confirming his move to Fenerbahce on Turkish television.

Özil said his goodbyes at London Colney on Sunday, and was later given permission to travel to Istanbul ahead of completing his free transfer to the Süper Lig side.

“I am coming tonight with my family to Istanbul,” he told NTV via phone call.

“I thank God who gave me the opportunity to represent this club and I will wear the shirt with pride.”

The Athletic reported on Saturday that Arsenal and Özil had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, despite the playmaker still set to earn £7m in wages between now and the end of June.

Özil hasn’t played for Arsenal since football resumed post-lockdown last June and was subsequently left out of their Premier League and Europa League squads for 2020/21.

Despite manager Mikel Arteta stating his exclusion was ‘football related’, there are no plans to reintegrate the playmaker who has been training away from the team in recent weeks.

Özil continues to continues to cause division among Arsenal fans after joining as their club-record signing in 2013, before tailing off significantly after signing a new deal worth £350,000-per-week in January 2018.