After a summer of shooting blanks on the transfer market, Arsenal became English Premier League’s biggest spender in on transfer deadline day, purchasing German international MesutOzil from Real Madrid for a club record $65 million. The 24-year-old signed a five-year deal worth close to $218,000 per week.
According to the Daily Mirror, the deal almostdidn’t happen, as mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain swooped in to try and hijack the deal with a bigger offer, but the report claims that Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger managed tosweet talk the playmaker into joining the Gunners.
“I am thrilled to be joining a club of the stature of Arsenal and am looking forward to playing in the Premier League,” Ozil said at hisunveiling. “It will be great for my own personal development as a player and I am particularly looking forward to working with Arsene Wenger. From our negotiations it is clear the club has hugeambition and I look forward to being part of an exciting future.”
Speaking to the club’s official website, Wenger said: “We are extremely pleased to have signed Mesut Ozil. He is a greatplayer, with proven quality at both club and international level. We have watched and admired him for some time as he has all the attributes I look for in an Arsenal player.”
WhileArsenal had also been looking for a striker to provide cover for Frenchman Olivier Giroud, deals for Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) and Demba Ba(Chelsea) didn’t go through.