Mesut Özil moves to Arsenal

Arsenal finally put their hand in their pockets and last night saw them complete the £42.4m deal which sees Mesut Özil move to the club from Real Madrid. This deal puts the midfielder £27.4 million above the previous club record. According to sources, Özil did have some doubts about the move, but these have been laid to rest by officials and now the signing himself proclaiming to have “what was missing, 100% faith in me”. The fee means that Özil will be on around £140,000 per week, which still fits in well with Arsenal’s wage structure. Özil is now at the head of the pay scale at Arsenal, with the next highest player being Theo Walcott on a mere £105,000 per week.

Personal terms have all been signed and the deal is complete subject to regulatory processes. Özil is now on international duty with his new team-mates Podolski and Mertesacker.

Özil with club and national team-mate Podolski

Arsenal were also in talks with a number of other clubs about high profile players; striker Demba Ba from Chelsea who has only played 15 times in the league since he moved from Newcastle in January for £7 million but were ultimately unsuccessful. They also moved, successfully, for Palermo goalkeeper, Emiliano Viviano, on loan.

Özil was on the list of a number of managers who hoped to lure him to their teams, including Manchester United, but it seems Arsenal were his preferred destination as he reportedly turned down more money at PSG to join the Gunners. Betting has been fierce on this season’s transfers, and in the upcoming season as to who will finish in the top four. This transfer for Arsenal makes fans hope that there will be more than just a top four finish for their beloved Gunners this season. If you want to win big, why not put some cash down on the season’s winners and get great odds when you use betfair.com sport bets.

Before the deal was concluded yesterday, a picture was uploaded to social media sites of an away shirt with Özil #11 printed on the back. Some claimed that this photo, found on Twitter, was from the Arsenal shop but with the deal confirmed now it probably won’t matter to the club or the supporters.

Özil Arsenal Shirt #11

Other high profile players that were on the radar for being signed by Arsenal include Luis Suarez, who were reported to have made a last ditch attempt to land the controversial player they had infamously bid £40,000,001 for earlier in the summer but this transfer deadline day rumour was quickly dispelled by persons and journalists close to the club.

Özil is considered to be one of the sport’s greatest midfielders, and this is a coup for the Gunners, who, to the relief of many supporters, have finally invested heavily in a player after a summer of mass departures and free transfers. Only time will tell how good an addition and investment for the team he will be but the statistics and history say that Arsenal have an incredible player on their hands.

Come you Gunners!

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