Mesut Ozil, currently a fan favourite at Arsenal has been on the radar of Real Madrid over the last couple of months if the reports coming out of Spain are to be believed. The Madrid club have supposedly realised their mistake in letting the Germany go from the Bernabeu in the summer of 2013 to Arsenal for their club record transfer fee of 42 million pounds.
After the move Ozil had a long settling in period under Arsene Wenger and was constantly criticised as a waste of fans’ money after the first season but over the last couple of years, he has evolved into the focal point for Arsenal to the point that now he has an approval rating of over 90 percent from the Arsenal fans.
These performances have made Real think long and hard about their transfer policy and with the team struggling creatively in their attacking department, it seems like a perfect fit. The obstacles are the high fee demands from Arsenal because of Ozil’s importance at the club and also the personal demands of the player who might want to rub it in the noses of the club hierarchy.
An important point of note is that Arsenal have been in touch with Ozil over negotiations for a new contract and hence these reports could be nothing more than the noise generated by his agent to accrue leverage during the talks.
The last time Ozil joined Real Madrid from Werder Bremen, he had this to say, “When the offer came in to join Real Madrid, there is no decision to make. Let’s be honest – you don’t refuse this club. I was in no rush to leave Werder Bremen, but this is one club you say yes to. They are an institution, a club with a fantastic history, stadium and squad full of world-class players. The prospect of performing at the Bernabeu is so awesome you jump straight in.”
If this is what he truly believes then there might be dark times further ahead for Arsenal as there aren’t many players who have the guile and class of the German playmaker.