‘OZIL CAN BE CLUB LEGEND’

ARSENE WENGER has urged Mesut Ozil to sign a new contract and become an Arsenal legend like Dennis Bergkamp. Germany international Ozil is in talks over a four-year deal worth around £200,000 a week, with Arsenal chiefs increasingly confident the 28-year-old will sign. The attacking midfielder is in the form of his life and, after a slow start at the Emirates, is consistently producing the sort of performances that persuaded the club to pay a record £42million to sign him from Real Madrid in 2013. His Arsenal career has parallels with Bergkamp’s, who after a difficult start to life in north London went on to become one of the their greatest players, spending 11 years at the club. The comparisons have not gone unnoticed by Wenger, though he says Ozil can only go down in Gunners folklore if he signs a contract extension. ‘There are similarities in the careers of Bergkamp and Ozil,’ said Wenger ahead of tomorrow’s North London derby clash with Tottenham. ‘Can Ozil become an Arsenal legend like Bergkamp? I think so, I think if he commits. Dennis Bergkamp committed for a long period, he played until he was 37. I hope we have ten more years of Ozil. To become a legend at the club, you need to stay a long time. ‘If you stay two years you would not be a legend.’ Wenger believes a settled personal life has sparked Ozil’s upturn in fortunes. The manager said: ‘It looks to me as though he is happier, and I believe that comes out in his performances. ‘He is committed now and I think he is at an age where he is more mature. ‘The difference today is he focuses more on efficiency. When he arrived here, he was more focused on playing. Today efficiency is more in his mind. ‘I convinced him that he has it in his locker to score goals. ‘He was more focused on giving and looking, but now he understands that he can have those qualities but also be on the end of things. In training, I noticed that he is a very good finisher. ‘He now realises that too. He is calm. You notice all the finishers are killers. That means they keep their nerve in front of goal, and he has that.’