Advertisement
Andrew Matthews/EMPICS Sport
chatty man

Long phone call from Wenger swayed Özil into Arsenal move

That, and an apparent lack of ‘transparency, trust and respect’ at Real Madrid.

Mesut Ozil has revealed that a long telephone conversation with Arsène Wenger convinced him to sign for Arsenal and has hit out at the lack of “trust and respect” at Real Madrid. The Germany midfielder, who joined Arsenal for ?50m (£42.5m) on deadline day, was persuaded by Wenger, who is fluent in German, that a move to England was the right one, despite the player initially wanting to stay at Real.
“Somehow this telephone call just flicked a switch in me,” Ozil told Die Welt. “I thought: ‘What he is telling me is what I have missed at Real: transparency, trust, respect. He told me exactly how he sees me [as a player], how he wants to use me, what he expects from me and what he hopes I will contribute.”
The 24-year-old, who has won 48 caps for Germany since making his debut in 2009, reiterated that he is desperate to help Arsenal end a trophyless run that stretches eight years. “I want to win titles and will do everything in order to do that. That is my mentality.”
Asked whether a tough Champions League draw, in which Arsenal were placed with Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Marseille, is discouraging, Ozil said: “We will do everything to get as far as possible in all the competitions. I learned that at Real. I don’t go into any competitions saying: ‘The aim us to reach the semi-finals or the final.’ When I play, I want to win.”
Ozil, who played in Germany’s 3-0 win against Austria on Friday and is set to face the Faroe Islands , said that he had travelled to Munich to meet up with his international colleagues on a return ticket but that he has now had to ask for a single to London on Wednesday morning.
“I did not even have time to pack so my dad is sorting all that out,” he said, before adding: “The transfer fee has nothing to do with me. I would have joined Arsenal on a free.”
Several Real players, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, have expressed their dismay at Ozil’s exit and the midfielder’s international coach, Joachim Löw, said he found the transfer “incomprehensible”.
“Several other [Real] players have also been in touch or spoken about it publicly,” Ozil said.
The former Schalke and Werder Bremen midfielder, who says he expects his Germany colleagues Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski to help him settle at Arsenal, is expected to make his Premier League debut against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

This article titled “Mesut Ozil: How Arsène Wenger convinced me to join Arsenal” was written by Marcus Christenson, for theguardian.com

© Guardian News & Media Limited 2014

Your Voice
Readers Comments
6
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.