Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has told teammates that he will be joining Manchester United as he waits for his contract to run down in north London, according to reports.

Axar.az reports citing Newsweek that, Arsenal has failed to make any progress in negotiations with Ozil about extending his contract, which runs out at the end of this season and will see him leave for free.

The German is allowed to speak to any club he wishes in January and can sign a pre-contract agreement that would see him move for nothing in the summer.

Ozil is so confident that he will be reunited with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford that he has begun telling teammates he will be joining United, according to the Daily Mirror.

But the deal could happen earlier. Arsenal will be keen to get some form of fee for the 29-year-old and may look to sell him during the January transfer window, which Arsene Wenger refused to dismiss earlier this week.

“In our situation, we have envisaged every solution. It is possible," he said when asked whether Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, whose contract also expires, could leave the club in January.

But despite the whispers at Arsenal, Wenger insists he knows nothing of a move. “It is my understanding [that he wants to stay]," he added. "At the moment, we are not close enough to announce anything."

Turkish club Fenerbahce is reportedly interested in Ozil, but so is Mourinho. The pair spent three years together at Real Madrid from 2010 through 2013, when both left the Spanish capital.

Ozil became Arsenal’s club record signing and Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge with Chelsea, but the two men kept in contact and have appeared friendly when they’ve met.

It will be a worrying prospect for Wenger that one of his most talented players could join his fiercest rival and strengthen United even further.