Press conference

Wenger - Ozil and Alexis will stay in January

With the January transfer window a little over a month away from opening, speculation is already rife about Mesut Ozil and Alexis.

The Arsenal pair are both in the last year of their contracts, but Arsene Wenger insists they will not be leaving mid-season.

This is what he told the media on Tuesday:

on whether Alexis and Mesut Ozil will be here on February 1…

Yes, of course.

on it being a relief for Arsenal fans…

Yes, of course that’s what we said many times.

on whether they’ll be here at the start of next season…

I am not the only one who can decide that. They have a part to play in that as well. If it’s my decision, yes.

on whether he is now ruling out Ozil and Alexis leaving in January…

Yes, I rule it out.

on whether that means a decision has been taken…

I do not think about that every day. At the moment, as long as they are here, they have to give their best for the team and for the club. In my head, they stay until the end of the season and that’s a decision that was taken at the start of the season. Unless something unbelievable happens, I can’t see why that would change.

on him saying Arsenal would make a decision in December…

We are not in December yet, we are in November.

on whether there’s still a chance they could leave in January…

In a press conference, you’re always confronted with many speculations over the psychological state of transfers but for me, they’ll stay until the end of the season. That’s what I decided at the start of the season. They’re into the final year of their contract. Will they stay longer? That’s impossible to answer today because I don’t know. They have a contract until the end of the season.

on Alexis contributing to 17 goals in 18 games v newly-promoted PL sides…

I don’t know if it’s just against these sides. Maybe it’s because we dominate the games more and we have more of the ball, but also because of his exceptional quality to make a difference. He can go individually, he can score from a distance and he can create chances as well. Certainly, most of it is down to his individual quality.