Arsenal complete deal to bring Real Madrid star Mesut Ozil to Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have announced that they have completed the signing of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid.
The Germany international, who is 24 years of age, joins for an undisclosed club record transfer fee – which is believed to be in the region of £42.5m.
Ozil leaves after an extraordinary few seasons at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, in which he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana.
He has also helped Germany reach the semi finals of both the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012, and former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho – now at Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea – described the German in glowing terms.
“He is the best number 10 in the world,” said Mourinho.
“Everyone loves him and sees a bit of Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane in him. He will make history at Real Madrid.”
Ozil can play both at the tip of the midfield triangle as well as drifting to the flanks, and his assist tally over the last few campaigns has been extraordinary.
In his 23 starts for Real Madrid last season, Ozil scored nine times and provided 13 assists, and Arsenal will hope to be able to count on similar figures in the coming months and years.
“I am thrilled to be joining a club of the stature of Arsenal and am looking forward to playing in the Premier League,” Ozil told the official Arsenal website.
“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 huge ambition and I look forward to being part of an exciting future.”
“We are extremely pleased to have signed Mesut Ozil,” added Arsene Wenger.
“He is a great player, 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.”
COMMENTS