Arsenal are now reportedly trying to sign one of Mesut Ozil's best mates

By Shamanth Jayaram

Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who happens to be one of Mesut Ozil’s best friends.

Mikel Arteta decided to sign a couple of players from the Etihad last summer and that fully transformed his team. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko’s additions are among the biggest reasons why Arsenal are on top of the Premier League table now.

After the success of those two, it looks like Arteta wants to sign another Manchester City player, this time for free.

Arsenal are trying to sign Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City

Gundogan has been one of Manchester City’s best players for years now.

The German has made 290 appearances for City and has played a huge part in helping them win four Premier League titles.

Now, Gundogan is just a few months away from becoming a free agent, and Spanish outlet SPORT has claimed that negotiations over a new deal have stalled because of his demands.

That could open the door for other clubs to swoop in, and Arsenal and Barcelona have both been credited with an interest to sign the 32-year-old this summer.

However, with Barcelona’s financial situation being a mess, they cannot afford him either, which leaves Arsenal in a great position to try and lure him away from the Etihad.

He’s one of Mesut Ozil’s best mates

Gundogan and Ozil played together for about eight years – from 2010/11 to 2017/18, according to Transfermarkt.

The two Germans know each other very, very well, with The Daily Mail reporting that Ozil and Gundogan are ‘the best of pals’ off the pitch, even though they are ‘deadly rivals’ on it.

Back in 2017, just a year after Gundogan moved to Manchester City, he posted a picture of himself with Ozil. He captioned it: “You’re not only great on the pitch, but also great as a loyal and caring friend!”

Ozil’s time at Arsenal came to a sad end, but Gundogan could easily write a story of his own at the Emirates, and the fact that he’ll be available for free makes him an attractive option.