Mesut Ozil ‘received an £ 8 million loyalty bonus from Arsenal’ despite not playing a game in SEVEN months

Mesut Ozil reportedly received a staggering £ 8 million loyalty bonus from Arsenal late last month despite his continued exile from the first team.

The German playmaker is the club’s top earner at £ 350,000 a week, but he has not appeared for Mikel Arteta’s team since March 7, ahead of the close.

In fact, Ozil has not even been named to a team of the match this season, but as a result of his new contract signed in January 2018, he received a sum of £ 8 million in September in the form of a loyalty bonus, according to The athletic.

Mesut Ozil reportedly received an £ 8 million loyalty bonus from Arsenal in late September

The German received the sum despite not appearing for the Gunners since before the closure

The flat rate, with his contract expiring next summer, is believed to have been a contributing factor in Ozil deciding to stay during the summer transfer window.

Sportsmail understands that the club is looking to hold talks with Ozil to break his huge contract before the January transfer window.

The 31-year-old, who was the club’s record signing when he moved from Real Madrid for £ 42.5 million in 2013, was left out of Arteta’s squad for the Europa League group stage last week.

It remains to be seen if Ozil will be included in the Gunners’ Premier League squad, which must be confirmed by October 20.

But their exile from the first team image looks set to continue, and the Gunners are reportedly saving money with appearance bonuses that are currently not being honored.

Ozil is not part of Mikel Arteta’s plans and was left out of his Europa League team last week

Arsenal have been looking to get rid of the World Cup winner from Germany, with latest reports indicating that Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr made a £ 5 million offer for Ozil in the summer, but the player himself did not want to exercise his trade in Asia.

According to Tyc SportsAl-Nassr has offered Ozil a way out, but is unwilling to accept the two-year contract proposed by the Saudi club.

The German has repeatedly maintained that he is happy in London even if Arteta, with whom he played alongside him in the red half of North London between 2013 and 2016, leaves him out of the team.

When asked why the World Cup winner had fallen from grace, Arteta replied late last month: ‘The team is evolving, you can see the level they are achieving.

Ozil continues to train regularly with the Gunners, but is not getting a glimpse on the day.

‘This is where we are right now. We want to evolve more and play better and compete better …

‘You can see that the players that we are changing, we are using them, it is very difficult every week not for Mesut but for some other players also to form the squad. Every week we try to choose the right players.

“Of course I understand and respect your questions, but I have to try to do my job as fairly as possible. I try to select the players who, in my opinion, are in better condition ”.

The German exile also offered to pay Gunnersaurus’s salary after the Arsenal mascot was fired by the club last week.

The 31-year-old has reportedly been offered the opportunity to join the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.

Meanwhile, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who bought Ozil seven years ago, recently insisted that Arteta could bring out the best in the playmaker, if he puts defensive-minded players alongside him.

“He wasn’t exactly the one with the most discipline on the pitch,” Wenger told German media Der Spiegel. And playing without the ball was not exactly his forte.

‘But you can deal with that if you put some more defensive players on his side. The main thing is to get the right balance between attack and defense ”.