By Dyllan Munro (@goonerdyllan)
Greetings Readers.
I must confess I found myself slightly apprehensive about writing this particular blog for the wonderful podcast peeps. The reason for my hesitancy was because I believed myself to be seriously ill, perhaps a victim of an ex-KGB agent trying to kill James Bond with some horrific neurological toxin which I had somehow accidentally ingested. Another possible scenario involved copious amounts of vodka leading to me losing the fairly difficult fight against gravity and sustaining a serious head wound which filled my brain with wonderfully vivid hallucinations. These hypothetical situations seemed infinitely more realistic than the reality, which was that Arsenal had signed Mesut Fucking Ozil.
If I am being honest I still can’t quite believe its happened because years of supporting Arsenal has lead me to believe that we are blessed only with misfortune. I half expect to discover that our marquee signing isn’t Mesut Ozil at all and is in fact Jose Mourinho wearing Ozil’s skin in an attempt to fuck us over in the creepiest episode of Scooby Doo ever. If it has happened, and I will act henceforth as if it has then we have the most talented #10 in the world.
This is a statement of intent that hasn’t been seen at Arsenal since the day Dennis Bergkamp signed for the Gunners. It signals to our fans, rivals and potential targets that we are once more going to be a force to be reckoned with. Arsene will also view this as vindication for his sustainable model for the club and I must admit I feel very satisfied that the £42.5m fee paid was cash that was generated by our own clubs commercial prowess rather that money from suspect investors a la Chelsea and Man City. While Abramovich faces annual court battles after screwing over business partners and the Guardian accuses Man City of being used to launder the reputation of its owners and cover up a shocking human rights atrocities in Abu Dhabi, Arsenal have remained dignified and over the years have acted in a manner expected of a club of our standing.
Make no mistake this signing hasn’t just happened in the last few days, it has been around a decade in the offing. The realisation that Arsenal would have to move to The Emirates to be able to compete provided the financial footing for this deal to even be considered. Mesut Ozil’s signing is the culmination of our “new found financial power” and the gritty determination exhibited by the players over the last few years to maintain a consistent level of performances during a time when the Gunners had to remain relatively thrifty.
The move also ridicules Van Persie’s suggestion that Arsenal lack ambition. I suspect he had no idea Fergie was retiring and without his motivational abilities Man Utd’s average squad will struggle. The most creative player they have, Kagawa, he doesn’t play and they have players more injury prone than we have with Vidic, Ferdinand, Fletcher, RVP, Valencia & Anderson.
Also something rather entertaining is only a year after he abandoned us our midfield now consists of occasional Welsh Captain Ramsey, English saviour Wilshere, Czech Captain Rosicky, Spanish Regular Cazorla, French international Rosicky and centre of the German national team Ozil. Then again that no doubt pales in comparison to the bastion of mediocrity that is Tom Cleverly.
It is true that the signing of even the most talented attacking midfielder in the world does not mask the current deficiencies that remain within the squad. I feel that our first 11 could beat anyone in the league however our lack of depth remains startling. At least goalkeeping cover was sorted in the form of Emilio Viviano. For now Arsene has retained faith in Giroud and also Flamini and Sagna’s versatility as those two can both cover almost all defensive positions as well as midfield in Flamini’s case. I suspect that Le Boss may be utilising the transfer market in January as he will be able to get a better price when there are more options readily available.
Ozil has said that Wenger played a huge part in him coming to London, a sign that Le Prof is still hugely respected especially in Europe. Mesut even turned down financially lucrative terms from PSG to come to the Emirates and play for us. It is clear after reading his statement that the faith about to be shown in him endeared him to the Arsenal cause.
Something else which should be considered is the playmaker is only 24 and has already had the illusion that Spanish football is the footballing pinnacle dispelled after a mixed time at Madrid. This means that in a few years time he is extremely unlikely to be pinning for a move to Barca or Real. Hopefully in a few years time he will have been joined by quality acquisitions and has been rewarded for his faith in Arsenal’s ambition with a Premier League medal.
Thanks for reading,
Dyllan Out.
Follow me on Twitter : (@goonerdyllan)