Mesut Ozil’s time in the Premier League is finally over, as Fenerbahce confirmed that they are to sign him.
The German World Cup winner had entered the final six months of his contract with Arsenal, having been left out of the club’s Premier League and Europa League squads for the first half of the season.
His last appearance for the club came pre COVID-19 lockdown back in March, and it’s believed that a fallout behind the scenes regarding political comments and a pay-cut during the pandemic led to his expulsion.
Ozil has maintained a positive relationship with fans by continuing to train and be vocal with his support of the club on social media, but his seven-and-a-half years in London are finally over.
It was hinted that he would join Turkish giants Fenerbahce last week, when during a Q&A on his Twitter account he revealed that he wanted to play in Turkey and the MLS before his retirement but that Fener were the only side he’d play for in the Superlig.
It’s now going to become a reality after the Istanbul side confirmed on Sunday night that the player had travelled to complete paperwork on a deal that will see him join immediately.
Arsenal and Ozil came to an agreement during the week that saw the termination of his contract early, with the Gunners keen to get his £350,000 per-week wages off the books with him no longer in their plans.
But after so long at the club and so many ups and downs, was Ozil’s time at the Emirates Stadium a flop?
Ozil joined the club in 2013 as a world class playmaker, entering the prime of his career at just 24-years-old. He was the club record signing at £42.5m from Real Madrid and during his tenure at the club he turned in some memorable performances.
He was influential as Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United were thrown to the side in an impressive 3-0 win, while also performing well as Arsenal won three FA Cup finals with him in the side.
He was the league leader in assists in 2015/16 with 19, just one off the record of 20 set by Thierry Henry (and now Kevin De Bruyne). Despite the accolades though, his time overall has been underwhelming. There’s always been the feeling that he had more to offer to the side and that he was never quite at top gear.
Considering his standing in the history of the game, he will undoubtedly go down as one of the best number tens of his generation, the fact that he spent the entire prime of his career at Arsenal and probably won’t go down as a legend at the club is quite sad.
He will be more fondly remembered for his short stint at the Bernabeu with Real Madrid, despite winning more trophies and spending more than double the time with the Gunners.
Arsenal fans will have some good memories of his time at the club but in reality they’ll be happy to see the back of him at this point in time. He will leave on relatively good terms but anyone that says he lived up to expectation upon his signing is a big fibber.
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