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LONDON. — Mesut Ozil has warned Arsenal he will only stay if Arsene Wenger signs a new contract.

The German international, who has 18 months remaining on his contract, attacked also Thierry Henry for his comments that he and Alexis Sanchez were “playing poker” with the club over their futures.

Ozil’s current deal expires in 2018 and he has publicly insisted that Wenger’s future is the most important part in his negotiations.

Gunners boss Wenger’s £8m-a-year contract expires this summer and, despite there being a two year extension on the table, he has yet to sign.

Wenger has claimed that he is waiting to see what happens this season, but Ozil has given him his full backing and has also denied claims that he and Alexis Sanchez are holding the club to ransom.

Ozil (28) told German magazine Kicker: “I am very, very happy at Arsenal and have let the club know that I would be ready to sign a new contract. The fans want that I stay and now it is just down to the club.

“The club knows that I am here most of all because of Arsène Wenger. He is the one who signed me and he is the one whose trust I have. The club also knows that I want to be clear what the manager is going to (do in the future).”

Ozil, currently on £140 000-a-week, has been offered a new deal worth around £200 000-a-week. When he joined Arsenal in 2013, he claimed Wenger was the most important reason he signed.

Sanchez’s £130 000-a-week contract also expires in 2018 and Arsenal have offered him around £180 000-a-week but Chinese clubs have offered him in excess of £400 000-a-week.

Sky pundit Thierry Henry has claimed that Ozil and Sanchez are “holding the club hostage” over their wage demands.

But Ozil said: “Everyone has a right to say what they want but what they have to say doesn’t interest me. Ex-players or other people who have a view don’t know what is actually being said between me and the club.”

Ozil’s decision to respond to quotes from Henry come as the Arsenal man demanding clarification over manager Wenger’s future before penning a new deal.

“Those two players (Ozil and Sanchez) are vital for the future of the club, they have to secure that deal,” Henry previously told Sky Sports.

“But to what extent? I don’t know if Arsene (Wenger) is going to pay those numbers. But if they don’t sign, who are you going to bring after that? What’s the future?

“At the moment they are holding the club hostage. They are amazing but if they are on that amount of money, I want a hat-trick every week – and also when there’s no game!,” Henry added.

“You need to be in a situation where you’ve won something already for the club to ask for that amount of money.”

But Ozil argued that Henry was speaking from a position of ignorance.

Meanwhile, Sanchez is at the centre of a tug of war for his signature as rumours of his impending Arsenal departure intensify.

The forward is out of contract in 18 months and has yet to put pen to paper on a fresh deal, with reports suggesting he is becoming increasingly frustrated with life at the Emirates.

According to French website maxifoot.fr, Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are lining up a £60m summer bid for the Chilean.They believe they can undercut Arsenal by offering less than what they believe Sanchez is worth if the Gunners allow him to enter the final year of his contract with the threat of him leaving for free.

PSG recently brought in Julian Draxler from Wolfsburg but are desperate to add more goals to their team following the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer.

However, Spanish outlet Don Balon say that Atletico Madrid will look to sign Sanchez as a replacement for Antoine Griezmann, should the Frenchman sign for Manchester United at the end of the season. They believe Sanchez will prefer a return to La Liga and is enticed by the prospect of linking up with Diego Simeone.

Even if Griezmann does not leave the club then Atletico could fund a move for the 28-year-old by selling Saul Niguez, who is grabbing the attention of a number of top clubs around Europe. — The Mirror.