Arsenal star Mesut Ozil’s agent responds to Fenerbahce transfer rumours
Advertisement Comment Arsenal star Mesut Ozil has been heavily linked with a move to Fenerbahce (Picture: Getty)Mesut Ozil’s agent says he is ‘really happy’ at Arsenal but has refused to rule out the chances of his client joining Fenerbahce once his current contract expires.German playmaker Ozil hasmade more than 250 appearances for the Gunners since signing from Real Madridin 2013.Ozil has helped Arsenal winthree FA Cups and reach last season’s Europa League final, although hisinfluence in north London appears to be waning.The 31-year-old will havejust 12 months remaining on his current Arsenal contract come the summer andhas been tipped to join Fenerbahce by some media outlets.ADVERTISEMENTOzil has strong ties with the Turkish club and his agent, Erkut Sogut, told Goal: ‘You never know in football.AdvertisementAdvertisement‘First of all, you can neverpredict the movement of players.‘I have said it before and I am saying it again that he [Ozil] is really happy where he is at Arsenal. He is still has a contract to go and there is no change.‘We will see what the future holds when the contract ends but for now, there is nothing I can say.’More: FootballRio Ferdinand urges Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to drop Manchester United starChelsea defender Fikayo Tomori reveals why he made U-turn over transfer deadline day moveMikel Arteta rates Thomas Partey’s chances of making his Arsenal debut vs Man CityLast week, Arsenal legend Paul Merson described Ozil as a ‘huge problem’ and said his astronomical wages are complicating contract talks with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.‘It would be a major disaster for Arsenal if they lost Aubameyang, however, the decision will be weighed up and at least it will be the club’s decision as to what they do,’ Merson told Sky Sports.‘Do they give him £300,000-a-week? I’ve always said they will have a problem until Mesut Ozil leaves the club. Metro Sport ReporterFriday 27 Mar 2020 10:12 amShare this article via facebookShare this article via twitterShare this article via messengerShare this with Share this article via emailShare this article via flipboardCopy link1.4kShares Advertisement Arsenal star Mesut Ozil’s agent responds to Fenerbahce transfer rumours Ozil is a ‘huge problem’ for Arsenal, according to Paul Merson (Picture: Getty)‘Every day he’s there, every other top player will want what he’s on. It’s a huge problem and not a new one.‘There’s also the danger of giving him big money, just like they did with Ozil, and then every other player wanting the same.‘It would take you straight back to the Ozil scenario and if you do spend all that money on him and you don’t get into the top four it’s not money well spent.’MORE: The three things Manchester United need to offer Jadon Sancho to secure summer moveMORE: Arsenal legend Lee Dixon jokes Gary Neville is lucky to have a career after Thierry Henry tore him to shreds
Update on the latest sports Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditNBA-NETS COACHNets hire Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash as coachUNDATED (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have hired Steve Nash as their coach, putting the Hall of Fame point guard in charge of the team that hopes to have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together next season. The 32-year-old Bulgarian is playing in the Open for the 12th time, but for the first time since 2016 after leaving the women’s tour to give birth to her son. She finished with an ace for her 22nd victory against a top-20 player.In other Thursday matches, reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin advanced to the third round by beating unseeded Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3. Amanda Anisimova won a matchup of American teenagers, rallying past wild card Katrina Scott 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.NASCAR-COVID CONCERNSNASCAR drivers cautious of COVID-19 as playoffs begin CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has decided it will not grant COVID-19 relief during the playoffs, meaning a positive coronavirus test will end a driver’s championship bid. Islanders and Golden Knights try again to close out their seriesUNDATED (AP) — The New York Islanders and Vegas Golden Knights will try again Thursday to close out their respective playoff series and advance to the conference finals. The Islanders will be looking to bounce back from a 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia that cut their series lead to 3-2 when they face the Flyers in Game 6. Vegas also had a chance to eliminate Vancouver in Game 5 of that series, but the Canucks held on for a 2-1 win. Now, the Golden Knights will try to reach the conference finals for the second time in the franchise’s three-year history in Game 6.MLB-ATHLETICS-MENGDEN-VIRUS The playoffs begin Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina without a safety net for the 16 participants during the pandemic. It’s up to each driver to protect themselves from COVID-19, understanding there is no cushion for missing a race. NASCAR at its discretion grants waivers during its regular season for illness, emergency or personal reasons. The waiver maintains playoff eligibility, if the driver qualifies, but no points are awarded while sidelined. Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon both missed one race during the season following a positive COVID-19 test and earned zero points. Dillon won a race — worth an automatic berth in the playoffs — but the seven-time champion Johnson went winless and missed the cut by six points. NASCAR made no changes for the 10-race playoff series, so missing a race would effectively end a driver’s championship chances.RACIAL INJUSTICE-NHL — The Tennessee Titans have made a switch at kicker, agreeing to terms with veteran Stephen Gostkowski (gahst-KOW’-skee) and waiving Greg Joseph. The Titans announced the move Thursday morning. Gostkowski is a four-time Pro Bowl kicker who won three Super Bowls in his 14 seasons with the New England Patriots. He has made 87% of his field goals with the fifth-best field goal percentage in NFL history. Joseph was the Titans’ fifth kicker last season in the NFL’s worst field goal unit. Joseph had been missing kicks in training camp, so the Titans made a move to fix the position. — All NFL and NFL Players Association facilities will close on Election Day, and the league and union will televise a one-hour program next week for players to highlight work being done to advance social justice. The league and the players’ union said Thursday they want to “ensure that every member of the NFL family has an opportunity to exercise the precious right to vote” on Nov. 3. Both the league and union have launched get-out-the-vote initiatives as well. TENNIS-US OPENMaguruza upsetNEW YORK (AP) — An unranked player has pulled off an upset at the U.S. Open in her first tournament in more than three years. Tsvetana Pironkova beat No. 10-seeded Garbine Maguruza 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round. September 3, 2020 NFL-NEWSBrowns acquire safety Harrison from Jaguars for draft pickUNDATED (AP) — The Cleveland Browns have acquired safety Ronnie Harrison in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cleveland gave up a fifth-round pick for Harrison. The loss of rookie safety Grant Delpit for the season with a torn Achilles tendon sent the Browns shopping for a safety and they landed Harrison, who is in his third season from Alabama. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound Harrison made 22 starts for Jacksonville, which selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft. He’s played in 28 games and made 103 tackles along with three interceptions.In other NFL news:— The Seattle Seahawks are bringing back Josh Gordon on a one-year deal as the talented wide receiver awaits reinstatement from the NFL after his latest suspension. Gordon’s signing was confirmed on Twitter by his agent David Canter, just two days before the Seahawks must cut their roster to 53 players. Gordon is the second veteran signed by the team in the past week, joining Paul Richardson. Gordon was suspended indefinitely by the NFL last December for violating the league’s drug policy. It was his eighth suspension either by the league or his team. Gordon applied for reinstatement by the NFL in June. A’s righty Daniel Mengden tests positive for coronavirusOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Athletics right-hander Daniel Mengden has tested positive for the coronavirus and is quarantined at home in Houston, where he received the result that forced Oakland and Major League Baseball to postpone four games this week.A’s general manager David Forst said Thursday that Mengden is asymptomatic and was placed on the 10-day injured list. The A’s added new left-hander Mike Minor to the 40-man roster after acquiring him Monday in a trade with the Rangers.The team had its three-game series at Seattle this week postponed as well as last Sunday’s scheduled series finale at Houston, where the A’s learned late Saturday of the one positive test. Forst said the A’s left Houston in two groups, the second being those who had close contact — up to 15 minutes — with Mengden in the 48-hour window during which he tested positive.The A’s don’t know how Mengden contracted the coronavirus. There haven’t been additional positive tests within the traveling party. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors hope to avoid losing a third straight game to the Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. They know that nobody has successfully escaped a 3-0 series hole in NBA history. The Celtics are 6-0 to start a postseason for the second time and are looking to match a franchise record with a seventh consecutive playoff win. The last teams to open a postseason run with seven straight wins were Cleveland and Golden State in 2017. In Thursday’ night’s other game, the second-seeded Los Angeles Clippers and third-seeded Denver Nuggets open their Western Conference semifinal series. Kawhi Leonard has scored at least 30 points for the Clippers in five straight games — and the two-time NBA Finals MVP finished with 29 in the only game he didn’t in the first round against Dallas.The Nuggets have their young stars Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic (NEE’-koh-lah YOH’-kich) ready to go. Murray matched an NBA record with two 50-point games in one series in the first round, part of a 142-point run from Games 4-6. And when he was finally slowed in Game 7, Jokic responded with 30 points, 14 rebounds and the tiebreaking basket with 27 seconds left in an 80-78 victory over Utah. That made Denver the 12th team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series but left the No. 3 seed with just one day to recover.NHL-STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS Nash is a two-time MVP as the engineer of the high-scoring Phoenix Suns teams under Mike D’Antoni. He had been a player development consultant with Golden State, where he worked with Durant.The Nets finished the season under Jacque Vaughn, who will remain on staff as Nash’s lead assistant.The Nets reached the postseason despite having Irving for only 20 games and Durant for none, but the two stars who came to Brooklyn together last summer are expected to be ready for the 2020-21 season. That made the Nets vacancy an attractive position.NBA PLAYOFFSRaptors try to avoid falling into 3-0 hole Associated Press NHL, players unveil series of anti-racism initiativesEDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The NHL on Thursday unveiled a series of anti-racism initiatives more than eight months after Akim Aliu (ah-KEEM’ ah-LEE’-yoo) brought the topic to the forefront in the predominantly white sport.The league and NHL Players’ Association are planning mandatory inclusion and diversity training for all players at camp; partnering with the Hockey Diversity Alliance to launch a grassroots program for young players of color in the Toronto area; and working together on several inclusion committees aimed at encouraging diversity among executives, pro and youth players and fans.The moves come amid mounting pressure from current and former minority players for the league to take concrete steps to address systemic racism. Colorado’s Nazem Kadri, a founding member of the alliance that was formed earlier this summer, reviewed the initiatives before they were announced and believes they show progress.
SANTA CLARITA – Skyrocketing gasoline prices have hit hard the people who rely on the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. Already distributing nonperishable food to 800 families, including 1,200 children, the nonprofit center over the past few weeks has seen more people coming in to register for aid: one or two every day, instead of the old norm of two or so a week. “Our clients can come into the food pantry every two weeks or up to twice a month, but because of gas prices we’re seeing they’re coming in once a month,” said Belinda Crawford, the pantry’s executive director. “They can’t afford to make the trip.” Los Angeles County may be considered the hunger capital of the nation, and affluent Santa Clarita mirrors the county’s statistics, but Crawford is counting on people to give generously Saturday, when food donations left near mailboxes will be routed from the post office to the food pantry. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREBasketball roundup: Sierra Canyon, Birmingham set to face off in tournament quarterfinalsDave Robles, vice president of the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Pasadena Branch, which includes the Santa Clarita area, said the nationwide drive, in its 14th year, has become the biggest one-day food drive in America, he said. “This is what keeps our doors open during the summer when our donations are at the lowest throughout the year,” Crawford said. “If it wasn’t for the letter carriers’ food drive we would definitely run out of food during the summertime.” Of the 156 tons of food donated to the pantry in 2005, 24 tons came from last year’s postal drive. While it sounds like a lot, 24 tons lasts about 37 days. One homebound couple in their 80s appreciate the helping hand from the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. Senior Center volunteers pick up groceries from the food pantry for them and for other shut-ins and deliver the food to their front door. “It’s really hard when you get up in age and there’s nowhere to turn,” said the Canyon Country woman, who didn’t want her name used. A diabetic on a fixed income, she cares at home for her husband, who is confined to a hospital bed. “This has helped. It has helped greatly,” the woman said. Many people donate food during the holidays, but the demand is greatest in summer, when children who qualify for free school meals are at home. Of the center’s clientele, about 44 percent live in Newhall, 30 percent live in Canyon Country and the rest live elsewhere in the valley. However, Crawford estimates only 14 percent of those who qualify for aid seek help. She plans to identify the “pockets of poverty” and partner with local organizations to bank food closer to them. For more information on the food pantry, visit www.scvfoodpantry.org, or call (661) 255-9078. judy.orourke@dailynews.com (661) 257-5255 HOW TO HELP: To participate in the “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, place nonperishable food in bags beside mailboxes on Saturday before the mail carrier arrives. Suitable donations include cans of meat, fish, soup, juice, vegetables, fruit or beans, as well as packages of pasta, rice and cereal. Make sure expiration dates have not expired and avoid glass containers.160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
Recent Comments