Mesut Ozil willing to leave Arsenal and join Schalke to make family happy

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil admits he is open to returning to former club Schalke, suggesting that the move would make his family – who still reside there – very happy.

Ozil joined the German club back in 2005, making 30 Bundesliga appearances before controversially rejecting their offer of a professional contract and moving to Werder Bremen.

After impressing at the 2010 World Cup, notably ripping England apart, he signed for Real Madrid, before making a club-record move to Arsenal four years ago.

And now the German international, whose contract with Arsenal expires in 2018, has conceded that he would love to go back home to Gelsenkirchen and help return Schalke to the summit of the Bundesliga.

‘Schalke is my absolute favourite club, I’m still a big fan,’ Ozil told Funke Media Group. ‘After all, I grew up with Schalke.

‘In terms of potential, Schalke is the number three for me in Germany after Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

‘They have wonderful fans and a great stadium. It is a pity that they are stuck in mediocrity. This fantastic club deserves more.’

Asked specifically about re-joining the club, he continued: ‘My family would be very happy about a return.

‘Right now though, I’m not thinking about it. But in football you cannot rule anything out.’

Schalke finished last season in 10th place, just six points above the relegation places, and lost more games than they won in a disappointing campaign.

Ozil similarly had an underwhelming campaign as Arsenal missed out on Champions League qualification, though recorded both 12 goals and 12 assists across all competitions.