Mesut Ozil Arsenal Signing: Wenger’s £42.4m Statement (2013)
Mesut Ozil Arsenal was the defining deal of deadline day on Monday 2 September 2013, when Arsenal signed the Germany playmaker from Real Madrid for a club-record fee, reported at £42.4m by the BBC and £42.5m by the Guardian. The 24-year-old, a Real Madrid galactico fresh from winning La Liga, agreed a five-year deal that nearly trebled Arsenal’s previous record and ended years of frugality under Arsene Wenger. It ranks among the biggest deadline-day transfers in our On This Day series.
Here is how the deal came together on the final night of the window, why Real Madrid let a European talent go, and what the fee really broke.
Key Facts
- Completed on Monday 2 September 2013, the final day of the summer window, with Arsenal signing Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid on a five-year deal (he was 24).
- The fee was a club record: £42.4m according to the BBC, £42.5m (€50m) according to the Guardian, breaking Arsenal’s record by £27.4m.
- The old record was £15m, spent on Andrey Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg in February 2009; the Guardian reckoned Ozil almost tripled Arsenal’s previous player-transfer high.
- By the Guardian’s count it was the third-biggest fee in British football to that point, behind Fernando Torres (£50m to Chelsea, 2011) and Carlos Tevez (£45m to Manchester City).
- Real Madrid’s world-record £85.3m signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham set off the deadline-day chain that freed Ozil, as the BBC reported.
- In three seasons at Real Madrid, Ozil played 159 games and lifted La Liga and the Copa del Rey, per Arsenal’s own announcement.
- ESPN framed it as Wenger’s first true statement signing after a long stretch of thrift forced by paying for the Emirates move from Arsenal’s own income.
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How Arsenal Signed a Real Madrid Galactico on Deadline Day
Eight Years of Frugality, Then One Statement
For most of the previous decade Arsenal had watched the top of the market from the outside. As ESPN put it, the bill for moving from Highbury to the Emirates had been paid out of Arsenal’s own revenue, and that self-financing kept the club priced out of the market’s upper reaches while Manchester City and Chelsea bought their way to the front. Wenger’s summers had run on free transfers, bargains and youth, and the 2013 window had opened in the same key, with supporters restless about another quiet close-season. Then, in the last hours of deadline day, the club that rarely broke the bank broke it in half. Wenger, who rated Ozil among the best creators in the game, said simply that “he has all the attributes I look for in an Arsenal player.”
The Mesut Ozil Arsenal Fee, and What It Broke
The number was the story. The BBC reported the fee at £42.4m; the Guardian put it at £42.5m, or €50m, and reckoned the outlay was almost triple the most Arsenal had ever spent on one footballer. The old mark, per the BBC, dated to 2009, when Andrey Arshavin arrived from Zenit St Petersburg for £15m on deadline day that February; Ozil cleared it by £27.4m at a stroke. By the Guardian’s count the deal sat third on the all-time list of British transfers at that point, trailing only the £50m Chelsea gave Liverpool for Fernando Torres in 2011 and the £45m Carlos Tevez had cost Manchester City. For a club whose spending had been a running joke, the jump was close to vertical.
| Signing | Fee | From | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrey Arshavin (previous record) | £15m | Zenit St Petersburg | February 2009 |
| Mesut Ozil (new record) | £42.4m | Real Madrid | September 2013 |
The Bale Domino That Freed Ozil
The move only came about because of a bigger one. The BBC reported that Real Madrid’s world-record £85.3m capture of Gareth Bale from Tottenham set off the closing-day scramble that shook Ozil loose. A La Liga and Copa del Rey winner who had played 159 games over three seasons in Madrid, by Arsenal’s own reckoning, Ozil suddenly sat behind Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria in the pecking order. Carlo Ancelotti was willing to let a European talent leave, and Wenger, who had tracked him for years, moved. On the eve of the deal the Guardian reported that Wenger would pay “a bit over the market, as long as it is not crazy” for the right player. This was the manager keeping his word on the one night nobody expected him to.
READ MORE: More deadline-day drama and transfer landmarks in our On This Day series →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal Signing
How much did Arsenal pay for Mesut Ozil in 2013?
Arsenal paid a club-record fee for Mesut Ozil in 2013, reported at £42.4m by the BBC and £42.5m (€50m) by the Guardian. Either figure broke Arsenal’s transfer record by more than £27m and came close to tripling their previous player-transfer high. The deal was completed on deadline day, 2 September 2013.
When did Mesut Ozil sign for Arsenal?
Mesut Ozil signed for Arsenal on Monday 2 September 2013, the final day of the summer transfer window. The deal was confirmed late in the evening with the window closing, after a day of speculation played out on Sky Sports News. Ozil, then 24, agreed a five-year contract.
Who did Arsenal sign Mesut Ozil from?
Arsenal signed Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid. According to Arsenal’s own announcement, Ozil had played 159 games over three seasons at the Bernabeu and lifted the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey before the move. He left as one of Real Madrid’s most admired creative players.
Was the Mesut Ozil Arsenal signing a club record?
Yes, the Mesut Ozil Arsenal signing was a club record. The BBC reported that the £42.4m fee broke Arsenal’s record by £27.4m, and the Guardian judged it close to three times the club’s previous top spend on a player. It stood as comfortably the largest fee Arsenal had ever paid.
What was Arsenal’s transfer record before Mesut Ozil?
Before Mesut Ozil, Arsenal’s transfer record was the £15m spent on Andrey Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg in 2009, as the BBC noted. Ozil’s £42.4m fee surpassed it by £27.4m in a single deal. No Arsenal signing since Arshavin had come close to that figure.
How did Gareth Bale’s transfer lead to Mesut Ozil joining Arsenal?
Real Madrid’s world-record £85.3m signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham set off the deadline-day deals that sent Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, according to the BBC. Bale’s arrival crowded Real Madrid’s attacking ranks alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria, and Ozil was allowed to leave. Arsenal moved quickly to sign him before the window shut.
Why was the Mesut Ozil Arsenal signing seen as a statement?
The Mesut Ozil Arsenal signing was seen as a statement because it ended years of frugality under Arsene Wenger. ESPN framed the deal as the moment Arsenal, once the Highbury to Emirates move was paid off, could finally spend among the market’s biggest players alongside Manchester City and Chelsea. Buying a Real Madrid galactico on deadline day signalled a change of intent.
How old was Mesut Ozil when he joined Arsenal, and how long was his contract?
Mesut Ozil was 24 when he joined Arsenal in September 2013, and he signed a five-year deal, as the BBC reported. He arrived at the peak of his creative reputation, months after starring for Germany. The contract tied him to Arsenal through to 2018.
What had Mesut Ozil won at Real Madrid before joining Arsenal?
Before joining Arsenal, Mesut Ozil had lifted La Liga and the Copa del Rey at Real Madrid, according to Arsenal’s announcement. He played 159 games across three seasons at the Bernabeu after arriving from Werder Bremen in 2010. His creativity and assist record made him one of Europe’s most coveted playmakers.
Where did the Mesut Ozil deal rank among British transfers in 2013?
The Mesut Ozil deal ranked as the third-biggest fee in British football history at the time, the Guardian reported. It sat behind the £50m Chelsea paid Liverpool for Fernando Torres in 2011 and the £45m Carlos Tevez cost Manchester City. For Arsenal, long known for thrift, that placing was startling in itself.
What did Arsene Wenger say about signing Mesut Ozil?
Arsene Wenger hailed Mesut Ozil as a player of proven class at club and international level, saying the German had every attribute he looked for in an Arsenal player, per the BBC. On the eve of the deal, the Guardian reported, Wenger had signalled he would pay a little over the market for the right talent. The words matched the fee Arsenal ended up paying.
Why does the Mesut Ozil Arsenal signing still matter?
The Mesut Ozil Arsenal signing still matters because it marked the point where Arsenal started spending with the game’s biggest clubs again after years of austerity. It reset expectations at the Emirates, gave Wenger his marquee creator, and set up the FA Cup revival that followed. For better and worse, it defined a chapter of the Wenger era.
Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal Signing (2013)
A club that had turned thrift into a personality broke its record by £27m in a single night, and did it for a Real Madrid galactico freed by the biggest transfer of the summer. Deadline day, 2 September 2013, was Wenger’s answer to years of doubt. For more transfers and matches that turned a club’s direction, keep exploring our On This Day series and the channel.
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