Howzat!
In a summer that was meant to be a sea change, we almost didn’t even get the bloody doors open, let alone blow them off. In the end though, Arsenal’s whole transfer record went up in smoke with the signing of Mesut Özil for a staggering £42.5m.
That’s Mesut Ozil, formerly of Real Madrid, mainstay of Germany, a truly world-class talent, and let’s go a bit overboard about this because a) it’s the biggest statement since Bergkamp – with a nod to Sol Campbell – and b) it finally proves that we can now operate in football’s rarefied upper atmosphere.
It’s our biggest transfer by about £27.5m, Britain’s second biggest and – I read somewhere, correct me if I am wrong – the biggest fee a German footballer has ever gone for.
Hello transfer market – Arsenal are back.
Above all we have bought a true talent, a man who can unlock defences, provide killer passes, but also score goals, and his purchase gives our midfield some serious options. Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Ramsey, Flamini, Ozil, Walcott, Rosicky. Exciting.
But his signing represents other things too. Ambition – other teams and players may take note. Breathing time for Wenger, who’s going to ride this crest for a while. And a superstar on the books, which will have untold effects on our fabled ability to make money. Fans get giddy at this – I know I have, hell, I am even considering buying a shirt for the first time since 2006 – and the merchandise will fly off the shelves.
It means that our 60,012 attendances may actually get close to being 60,012. He’s a massive draw.
And it gives our players a boost – Wilshere is “absolutely buzzing“, Podolski is giving it the digital thumbs-up. It’s a shot in the arm for them, too.
This is what Real fans thought of his impending departure.
I can’t wait to see him play.
Also incoming is Almunia doppelganger Emiliano Viviano, whose misfortune it was to sign on the same day as Ozil, and who is very much a backup for Szczesny and Fabianski.
We needed a striker, but left it too late. That’s a big regret for me, and will probably need to be addressed in January. Fingers crossed for Giroud’s fitness (we’ve been here before, relying on one striker’s fitness…)
But overall, it’s all about the Ozil.
I’m excited. Can you tell?
I haven’t yet figured out how Madrid could let him go. What does their club actually exist for?
Wenger could make Ozil a better player
Great Great signing. This is what we have been waiting for.
A big departure for Wenger as well, as he has never bought established world class players (other than Campbell on free) before.
Maybe even he knew he had to change habits to get himself a new contract and quell the supporters ire.
Having said this, as every year goes by, I cannot help but compare the Premier League more with the Roman Circus.
I have to remind myself that it’s just a game of football or “the most important unimportant thing in life” as someone I can’t remember once said..
I suspect they needed to balance the books. And maybe he’d play less with Bale there (who has to play, at that price).
Savage
Its a shirt thing
Isco is the player who has taken his spot, a young (maybe 21) Spanish player who looks similarly talented to Ozil. Was Isco so good that Ozil couldn’t get a game?? They had paid big, big money for two young Spaniards, so Ancelotti needed to play one of them, and Isco arrived in the blistering form of his UEFA Under 21 Championship performances. It’s almost like they found a like-for-like replacement with Isco, so they could let Ozil go. (Plus Financial Fair Play, not having a bloated squad with upset players). Ozil wasn’t playing, and we offered 40 million pounds – but even still, I agree that’s it’s strange to let him go, because he was their second best player over the last three seasons.
I think having Ozil is going to work well for Cazorla.
Remember when Reyes came in? It showed how good Henry was. I think it might be like this with Cazorla. I hope Ozil will be at his level. It looks to me like Cazorla is already crating a bunch of chances, so if Ozil can add to that, instead of cancelling it out, and if they can both score, then we should be in great shape.
Theo, Podolski, Sanogo, Bendtner, Giroud, Akpom – Any of these guys could play up front and do well with those two, and Wilshere, and Rosicky, and Jenkinson sending in balls.
People are so down on Sanogo – with expectations so low I think people will be relieved when he plays a little more. In pre-season, I thought even thought Akpom looked ok, though, so I’m not sure what that says about me.
The setup with Cazorla-Ozil looks similar to C.Ronaldo-Ozil: Ozil likes to look to his left. Ronaldo scored 40 in the league – can Santi hit 20?
Can’t help but be excited by Ozil but job done for Arsene in terms of doing enough to get a new contract ? Not even close. Extraordinary that we’ve got one striker only again – for the third season in a row. If Giroud gets injured with France this week our season will effectively be over & that is just not good enough. We have options to replace Giroud, the problem is – for different reasons – they’re shit options. Saying otherwise is just daft.
Comment from a Gooner on the bbc website last night made me laugh out loud….’It’s good that a team with Cazorla, Arteta, Rosicky, Podolski, Ramsey, Walcott, Oxlaide Chamberlain and Wilshere finally have an attacking midfielder’……
Even in his interview he’s brilliant. On what he remembers about beating England under 21’s: “It was fun. We dominated.”