Mesut Ozil: Arsenal midfielder signs new contract until 2021

Mesut Ozil has made 182 appearances for Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal to stay at the club until 2021.

Ozil, 29, becomes the highest-paid player in the club's history - earning about £350,000 a week before tax.

The deal, signed on Wednesday, follows months of speculation about the future of the Germany international, whose previous contract was due to expire at the end of the season.

He joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in 2013 for a then club record £42.4m.

Ozil could have left Arsenal as a free agent in the summer and had been able to discuss a move with foreign clubs since 1 January.

The playmaker has made 21 appearances this term, scoring four goals and recording six assists, and his new deal commits him to the Premier League club until he is 32.

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It comes on the day Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund and follows the departure of forward Alexis Sanchez, who joined Manchester United after lengthy contract negotiations with the Gunners.

Ozil has won three FA Cups in his three-and-a-half-year spell at Emirates Stadium - and no other player has recorded more assists or created more chances in the Premier League since his debut in September 2013.

He also has 88 caps for Germany and won the 2014 World Cup.

Ozil's Arsenal career so far

Ozil joined Arsenal at the end of the 2013 summer transfer window and won the FA Cup in his first season as the club ended a nine-year wait for a trophy.

He made 32 appearances in the 2014-15 season, despite missing three months with a knee injury, and won the FA Cup for a second year in a row.

Ozil set a new Premier League record in November 2015 by becoming the first player to create a goal in six consecutive matches.

He scored nine goals and made 20 assists in the 2015-16 season and was named Arsenal's player of the season.

However, some of his Gunners performances have been criticised and in February 2017 his agent said he was being made a "scapegoat" for the north London club's problems.

In 2017, Ozil won the FA Cup for the third time as Arsenal beat Chelsea at Wembley.

Arsenal's up-and-down January

• Arsenal suffered a shock FA Cup defeat by Nottingham Forest, Arsene Wenger's first loss in the third round of the competition.

• The Gunners beat Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate to reach the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.

• Sanchez was sold to rivals Manchester United but they signed midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan as part of the deal.

• Wenger's side completed a club record £56m deal for Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but could lose striker Olivier Giroud to Chelsea.

• They have won just one Premier League game this month and lost 3-1 at relegation-threatened Swansea on Tuesday.