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Wenger: ‘Ozil Came To My House, He Signed Within 24 Hours’

By mac14 on November 14, 2013

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has lifted the lid on how he managed to secure the signature of Mesut Ozil and compared the playmaker to France legend Zinedine Zidane.

Ozil was no doubt the stand-out signing of the summer as we snapped him up from Real Madrid in a record £42.5m deal on transfer deadline day.

It emerged shortly after that big-spending French giants Paris Saint-Germain were also in the running for the German international, but Arsene Wenger has explained how he managed to fend off their interest to land the hugely talented 24-year-old.

“PSG wanted Ozil but I had an advantage because I’d already had that contact [when Arsenal tried to sign the player from Werder Bremen in 2010],” added Wenger.

“He came to my house and he decided quickly. The first contact [with Ozil] happened at my place, for discretion. He decided in 24 hours.”

[Source: Express]

The boss then went on to compare Ozil to the legendary Zidane, saying they have similar technical ability but Ozil is more of a dribbler than the former Real Madrid and Juventus ace.

“Ozil has a special quality,” said Wenger. “He always makes the right decision quickly.

“He is [more of] a dribbler than Zidane – they have a similar form of technical ease and similar humility.”

I can see the similarities but obviously Ozil has a long way to go before he’ll go down in the same category as Zidane – who’s widely regarded as one of the greatest players to ever grace the game.