LONDON -- Arsene Wenger says he doesn't think Mesut Ozil's Arsenal future is tied directly to his own, but expressed optimism that the club can reach a new deal with the German "very quickly."
Ozil told kicker on Sunday that he wants to know whether Wenger will stay at the club beyond this season before deciding whether to sign a long-term contract extension himself.
Wenger's contract expires this summer, while Ozil and star striker Alexis Sanchez have 18 months to go on their deals and have yet to commit their futures. But Wenger insisted that Ozil's comments had been "a bit misinterpreted."
"He would like to know what happens, of course, on the managerial front. But I don't think that's the main part of his decision," Wenger said on Friday at his news conference ahead of Saturday' trip to Swansea. "It is part of it, but it's not the only thing. There are many other ingredients in any negotiation, and hopefully we'll find a conclusion very quickly with him."
However, he would not be drawn on how the talks are going, or whether the players will need to lower their wage demands.
"I do not want to go too much into detail on that because that can be quickly interpreted in the wrong way," he said. "We have to keep that as quiet as possible and try to find an agreement, and at the end of the day respect our line of conduct that we always have."
Arsenal signed Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Francis Coquelin to long-term extensions on Thursday, deals that Wenger said will help bring "a good stability" to the squad. And he thought those deals could make Ozil and Sanchez more willing to sign as well.
"Generally I would say yes, because the squad has a great spirit. And I believe as well the players will want to stay together," Wenger said.
Wenger said none of the three French players had asked for assurances that he was staying in charge, but also insisted that he's no closer to making a decision about his future.
"I have nothing to add to that at the moment," he said. Ozil and Sanchez will both be back in the squad for the Swansea City trip after being rested for last weekend's FA Cup win at Preston North End, as will Laurent Koscielny and Petr Cech.
But right-back Hector Bellerin remains sidelined with an ankle injury, and Theo Walcott will miss a fifth straight game with what the club had initially called a "slight" calf problem.
Wenger said Bellerin and midfielder Francis Coquelin could both be back against Burnley next week, while Walcott will be out at least another week. But Wenger insisted he was "not concerned" about Walcott's injury.
"At the start it was a little calf problem, but he was not comfortable when he started to train again, so we had to pull him out again," Wenger said. "But I am not concerned because I think two weeks [away]."