Arsenal want to terminate Mesut Ozil’s contract before the January transfer window

He hasn't played for the Gunners since March

According to reports, Arsenal want to terminate the contract of Mesut Ozil before the January transfer window opens. Ozil, 31, hasn't played a single minute of football for Mikel Arteta's side since March, and the Gunners want to get rid. The Arsenal hierarchy want to begin talks on a mutual contract termination and get it done before January. Mesut Ozil is the highest paid player in Arsenal's history, earning around £350,000 per week. The Gunners have made attempts to begin talks over the past few weeks, but these have been batted away by the German's representatives. He is believed to be holding out for the full £13 million owed for the remainder of his contract. Arsenal's intentions are clear regarding Ozil, as they left him out of their 2020/21 Europa League squad. [caption id="attachment_252493" align="alignnone" width="2048"] (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)[/caption] When asked why he wasn't picking Ozil, Arsenal boss Arteta said: "The team is evolving, you can see the level they are achieving. "This is where we are at the moment. We want to evolve more and play better and compete better. "We need to keep maintaining that. I'm really happy with the performance here, how difficult they're making things for the coaching staff to select the squad." Earlier this week, Ozil dipped his hand into his pocket - or at least offered to - to rehire Arsenal mascot Gunnersaurus. Jerry Quy, the man responsible for playing the big green dinosaur for the last 27 years, was reportedly made redundant by Arsenal. However, Ozil said he would step in and pay Quy's wages if it meant allowing him to keep his job. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli have also been left out of Arsenal's Europa League squad. Saliba is likely to move to a Championship club on loan before the October 16th EFL deadline, whereas Martinelli is a long-term injury doubt. Sokratis has fallen down the pecking order under Arteta, which is why the Spaniard strengthened in central defence over the summer.