The German’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the season.
Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker has told German outlet Spox that his “absolute priority” is to earn a new contract at the club.
Mertesacker was named as the Gunners’ new captain this summer after the departure and retirement of fellow veteran Mikel Arteta.
However, he suffered a knee cartilage injury in pre-season and is yet to play a single minute of football since the start of the campaign.
At the age of 32, that is a serious blow for the German centre-back. Not only is his ageing body taking longer to recover from the problem than a younger man’s might, but it is seriously hampering his attempts to stake a claim for a contract extension.
Mertesacker’s current deal runs out at the end of the season, and Arsenal’s club policy dictates that the contracts of players over the age of 30 are only extended on a rolling year-by-year basis.
With Mertesacker yet to feature for the club this season and the blossoming partnership between Laurent Koscielny and summer signing Shkodran Mustafi serving Arsene Wenger’s side well, his future is surely in serious doubt.
Speaking to German publication Spox, the Germany centurion has stressed that his “absolute priority” is to earn a new deal, but admitted that not even preliminary talks have begun between himself and the club.
Mertesacker said: “A renewal with Arsenal is my absolute priority. But we have not made an appointment yet to discuss a new deal. Arsenal are my top priority and everything else is just speculation.”
There has been talk that Mertesacker could choose to return to Germany next summer, with his former club Werder Bremen said to be interested.
However, it is clear that the player himself has no desire other than to continue wearing the red of Arsenal for the foreseeable future.
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