Sounds to me like its more a case of Perez being a royal idiot than Wenger being an absolute genius. Not to say Wenger played no part in the move, but I'm still very much against him for all his previous transgressions.
LOL. El Confidencial news says that Daniel Levy called Florentino when he got wind that a deal was being made for Özil with Arsenal to try to stop it and Florentino told him it was all but done. Levy had originally wanted Özil as makeweight for Bale but back then the relationship between Flo with Özil had not deteriorated yet.
A day later and I still can't believe this actually happened. Completely surreal. Can't wait until that shirt comes in the mail.
We're off to see the Wizard The Wonderful Wizard of Ozil We hear he is a Whiz of a Wiz If ever a Wiz there was If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was The Wizard of Ozil is one because Because, because, because, because, because Because of the wonderful things he does We're off to see the wizard The Wonderful Wizard of Ozil! does that work? can't see that being too easy with a skinful. (you could even do the silly jaunt about the place...lol)
I can't believe this. He basically robbed Madrid blind here. I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt, since from what I hear there were stadium payments and such. Perhaps he didn't have the funds necessary to make such a purchase in the past, and despite losing his best players in Nasri/RVP/Cecs, he still kept the team in the CL until he had the financial flexibility to start bringing in world class talent. Also, from what I hear Ozil will be making 8m euros per year, and although I'm not an Arsenal fan and don't know the wage structure, I have to assume that this is a significant upward move in the wage structure. This may be a secondary important factor beyond the brilliance of Ozil, this tells the future RVP/Cesc/Nasri that Arsenal are willing to pay fair wages for world class ability. All in all, he has handled it brilliantly, at least from an outsiders point of view. I know everyone talks about Wenger not wanting to spend, but let's remember it is not his money. Perhaps all the people that talked about all this money in the past were incorrect, and due to financial obligations Arsenal has not been able to spend as they would like? Like I said, I'm an outsider so i don't know, but it seems plausible to me. If Arsenal now continues going forward and keeping a talent like Ozil plus adding more players in the years to follow, I can't see any disillusionment with Wenger sustaining itself.
As much I love Gundogan (who outclassed Ozil in last year's CL), we really don't need him if Ramsey and Wilshere stay healthy and continue developing. As for Bender? yes please 7 days a week.
Ozil not only will make us better, there are so many intangibles he will bring. He's 24 and will be reaching his peak. He'll also have a HUGE chip on his shoulder because of him being forced out of Madrid. Ozil will also have influence as he could get some more of his German teammates to come play. I also believe that he will help with the development of Eisfeld, Gnabry and especially Zelelem while sharpening Poldolski and Mert. Even the price and wages we are paying are a little less than what he probably is worth in the market. Welcome Ozil! We have faith in you!
Perhaps this is the 2nd stage of Arsene building a EPL/CL winning side. Which big names come off the books in January/Next window?
Great reading today in the Telegraph! Arsene's multi lingual skills put to good use! "After months of on-off negotiations, the club’s chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, was made aware on Saturday that Real Madrid would be willing to sell Mesut Özil for £42 million. The problem, however, was that Özil himself had always seen his future at Madrid and would need some convincing. Wenger immediately broke off from his preparations for Sunday’s north London derby, dialled Özil’s phone number and, after a series of lengthy conversations in German, was quietly confident that the deal had been done. He had outlined his vision for how he wants his team to play, how he saw Özil becoming his creative conductor and, above all, how this would just be the start of Arsenal competing with the superpowers of European football for the world’s best players. Conversations with Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski followed, leaving Özil convinced." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...ne-phone-call-from-manager-Arsene-Wenger.html
Nah, Wenger deserves his due. He was key in getting the transfer done. He pulled a rabbit out of the hate and shut up the doubters (myself included). As has been said, this is a game changer for the club.
It has been reported by other outlets as well. Despite the criticisms, ArsEne is still a universally respected figure in world football. From Schuster to Klinsmann and Bierschoof, they are all lauding the move today. For them, Arsenal is the right place for Ozil to grow. ""Jürgen Klinsmann sent Özil a message telling him that Wenger’s Arsenal would be the perfect fit. "Bernd Schuster: “Arsenal is the perfect destination, Wenger is a great coach. My surprise is allowing a player of Özil's quality to leave.” On a related note, MU made last ditches effort to get Ozil. "Manchester United made a last gasp attempt to snatch transfer record breaker Mesut Ozil from Arsenal’s grasp. United made enquiries on Monday with Old Trafford boss David Moyes desperate to bring in a top quality playmaker before his deal for Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera went horribly wrong. Mirror Sport understands that desperate phone calls were made on Monday morning to see if Ozil was still available, having been offered by third party agents two weeks before. But it was already too late as Germany midfielder Ozil, 24, had turned down a more lucrative offer from Paris Saint Germain and now it emerges that Arsenal also beat United to a deal with Real Madrid." Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...-news-manchester-united-2248369#ixzz2dtFqJ8QD