The latest rumour flying around the transfer mill is the transfer of Mesut Ozil to Manchester United from league rivals Arsenal at the end of the season. The more shocking part of it is that the transfer would be on a free due to the fact he only has a few months to run on his current contract. He would once again be linking up with Jose Mourinho but would this be a 2nd album winner or a movie sequel disaster?
Ozil moved to Arsenal in 2013 for a then club record transfer of £42.5 million from Real Madrid. It was a sensational move, and the London club were expected to challenge for the title once again just like they did in the late 1990’s & early 2000’s. Despite winning three F.A Cups and a Community Shield during his time with The Gunners, his side have never quite hit the right note in terms of challenging for the title. Closest they came was in 2015-16 when they finished 2nd, but they were still 10 points behind shock winners Leicester City.
Fans have seemed to make Ozil the scapegoat as well. The inconsistency and lack of defending from the German international frustrates them so much that Arsenal Fan TV becomes slightly tedious after the game. Despite being voted their player of the season in 2015-16, where he finished the season with 19 assists (the highest in the league), they still feel he disappears in big matches and cannot be counted on when it is crunch time.
The former German player of the year did suffer a blip last season but still finished the season with twelve goals and twelve assists in all competitions. He even helped Arsenal clinch their 13th F.A Cup. He is an exceptional talent who can create chances out of thin air, and the hierarchy at The Emirates will undoubtedly be hoping to keep hold of him.
The question regarding Manchester United is will he actually be needed there? With the likes of Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard all able to play either out wide or just behind the striker, Ozil would be confronted with some serious competition. Despite the competition, Mourinho is confident he can make it work.
Once again, the Manchester United manager would be bringing in a player he trusts. He has already brought Nemanja Matic and Zlatan Ibrahimović to Old Trafford having previously worked with them at Chelsea and Inter Milan respectively. Ozil was at his most prolific during his time at Real Madrid under the Portuguese as he finished with the most La Liga assists in the 2011-12 season, which coincidently was the year Los Blancos won La Liga beating Barcelona by nine points.
Therefore, showing how instrumental he was during Mourinho’s years at the Santiago Bernabéu and why he will want to sign the German this summer. With contract troubles at Arsenal, a dip in form and the resurgence of The Red Devils as a genuine title force, the former Porto man has all the cards in hands to attract Ozil to Old Trafford.
The tricky playmaker could easily slot into a playmaker role either as a CAM through the middle or out wide. He will face competition, but he should embrace this rather than being one of the first names on the team sheet for Arsenal and producing lacklustre performances. It would be a genuine transfer coup and one the red side of Manchester will welcome with open arms.
