By JOHN EDWARDS, 2 September 2013
Arsenal have signed Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for a club-record £42.5million.
The midfielder signs on a five-year deal worth £140,000-a-week after he had a medical in Germany on Monday, despite Paris Saint-Germain coming in with a more lucrative offer earlier in the day.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger first tracked the midfielder six years ago, but Ozil has now been convinced to join the club by Germany team-mate Per Mertesacker and Wenger himself.
 |
| Stint: Ozil has played 158 times for Real in just over three years |
 |
| Fanatic: Arsenal fans show their support for Ozil outside their training ground in London Colney |
 |
| Star saviour: Ozil has joined Arsenal for a club-record £42.5million fee |
 |
| Preferable: Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti (below) has opted to keep Angel Di Maria over Ozil |
The midfielder underwent a medical with Bayern Munich and Germany team doctor Hans Muller-Wolfhart after accepting he is no longer wanted at the Bernabeu and would be better off making a fresh start in north London.The deal makes Ozil the best paid player on Arsenal’s books, while the £42.5million fee smashes the previous club record of £16.5million paid for Santi Cazorla last summer.
Ozil was due to be in a television commercial on Monday for the German national side and therefore could not travel to England to complete the medical at Arsenal.
Fears had grown that Paris Saint-Germain had matched Arsenal's bid, but Wenger has landed his man.
Madrid fans sang, 'Ozil no se vende', or 'Ozil is not for sale' as world-record signing Gareth Bale was unveiled at the Bernabeu, prompting Florentino Perez to put his finger to his lips.
Ozil may have been swayed by the fact German team-mates Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski are both currently at the Emirates and could help him bed in.
Arsenal are also thought to be back in discussions with Madrid over their interest in Angel Di Maria and Karim Benzema.
ARSENAL'S PREVIOUS RECORD TRANSFERS
Santi Cazorla (Malaga, £16.5m - August 2012)
Andrey Arshavin (Zenit, £15m - February 2009)
Samir Nasri (Marseille, £12.5m - July 2008)
Sylvain Wiltord (Bordeaux, £11m - August 2000)
Thierry Henry (Juventus, £10.5m - August 1999)
 |
Moving on up: Wenger has finally come up with the goods at the 11th hour
|
Sportsmail understands the question of Ozil’s future came to a head after Ancelotti was told to make a choice between him and winger Di Maria.
After paying a world record fee for Bale, Real president Florentino Perez made it clear some funds had to be recouped and that either Ozil or Di Maria should go.
The former Chelsea boss indicated he would rather keep Di Maria, leaving Ozil to ponder whether he might be better off, after all, at the Emirates.
Former England striker Gary Lineker earlier Tweeted: 'Özil has signed for Arsenal. Terrific acquisition. Always rated him, but wonder why Real Madrid didn't and why Mourinho preferred Willian?'
Germany team-mate Jerome Boateng took to Facebook to post a picture of himself with Ozil, saying: 'Alles Gute beim FC Arsenal Mesut Özil ;-)' or 'Happy at Arsenal Mesut Ozil'.
Ozil signed for Real Madrid from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2010 for a fee of £12.4m.
No comments:
Post a Comment