The Rise and Fall of Arsenal’s Playmaker: What Went Wrong with Mesut Ozil?

The playmaker was greeted like a god when he arrived in 2013, but few fans were sorry to see him go in 2021, so what went wrong?

When it first broke that Arsenal were interested in signing Kai Havertz, there was an immediate temptation to dismiss the report as fake news. Even correspondents with excellent sources within the club were shocked by the claim that the Gunners were willing to spend big money on a player who had scored just 19 goals in 91 games for Chelsea.

It really was, then, a transfer that took everyone outside the Emirates by surprise. And yet it was nothing compared to the shock waves generated by Arsenal’s previous acquisition of a young German international a decade ago.

In the summer of 2013, Real Madrid broke the world transfer record by signing Gareth Bale from Tottenham, but that created a problem (Financial Fair Play) for Florentino Pérez’s accounts department. A valuable asset would have to be sold to break the books, and Arsenal knew it.

Former transfer negotiator for the London club, Dick Law, flew to Spain to meet with Madrid general manager José Ángel Sánchez, who revealed that the club would even consider selling Karim Benzema or Ángel Di María. Only Carlo Ancelotti had none of that. He wasn’t prepared to lose any of the players. However, the Italian was open to letting Mesut Ozil go.

2023-07-01 15:05:13
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