How things could be so different for Arsenal today. Reports coming out of Spain suggest that Barcelona had a £7million agreement in place to sign Ozil from Werder Bremen back in 2010. But according to El Mundo Deportivo, Ozil even met with Barcelona president Sandro Rosell but the Barcelona board was divided over the move, allowing Real Madrid to make the signing for a fee in the region of £13million.
Who knows where Ozil would be today if he had signed for Barcelona or how he would have turned out as a player. At Madrid, Ozil developed into a world class player who caught the eyes of many across the world, until eventually things were not going well for him anymore in the Spanish capital and he opted to join Arsenal for £42.5million.
Many midfielders have tried to join Barcelona but their game has suffered. Displacing Xavi and Iniesta is not easy, many have tried and failed. I think the day those two leave Barcelona then you will see the talents of others central midfielders at the club shine. If I were Ozil I will be so happy that I did not join Barcelona as he probably would not have turned out to be the player he is today.
Well that is all in the past now and I am just glad he is at Arsenal playing well and enjoying his time at the club. Ozil recently said, “I feel great in London, the coach trusts me and the team is fully behind me. I feel very, very well there.
“I can only say that he [Wenger] is a great coach who knows exactly what he wants and has a clear vision. We need a coach like that if we want to be successful.
“London is an interesting city to live in. I have grown to love this place in such a short space of time.”