Mesut Ozil is resisting Arsenal’s efforts to implement a squad-wide 12.5 per cent pay-cut.
Arsenal on Monday announced ‘a voluntary agreement with our first-team players, head coach and core coaching staff’ to cut salaries for a 12 month period.
However, there are as many as three players who are still to be totally convinced of the necessity to take total pay deductions, rather than deferrals, with Ozil understood to be one of those.
ARSENAL'S TOP WEEKLY EARNERS
Mesut Ozil - £350,000
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - £200,000
Alexandre Lacazette - £180,000
Nicolas Pepe - £140,000
David Luiz - £125,000
Hector Bellerin - £110,000
Individual talks are set to continue with Ozil, the club’s highest earner on £350,000-a-week, who has made it clear he may be willing to take a pay-cut in the future but wants to be sure of the full financial impact of the coronavirus before making a full informed decision.