Great start to September for all Gunners as Ozil joins

What an amazing last 48 hours have been experienced for Arsenal fans, the excitement has come thick and fast and after experiencing such a high much like junkies there is likely to be an almighty comedown once things settle down. It won’t last long of course but in reflection a North London Derby win followed by the signing of the magnitude of a player like Mezut Ozil.

I have to admit I am still buzzing from the victory at the Emirates, a clean sheet and first blood against our lesser rivals and their £100m signings. The atmosphere was electric as always when we play Tottenham, their fans were strangely subdued maybe they were just grateful we didn’t pop in another 5 goals against them. Either way the victory worked wonders for the moral amongst Arsenal fans, we have been frustrated at the lack of transfer activity and the frustration was filtering from the fans and causing an unpleasant vibe within the Emirates.

The games that followed the defeat at Aston Villa certainly did their part in the damage limitation; the victory over Spurs damn near wiped the Arsenal fans minds. Temporarily I must say, as transfer deadline day is a date etched in the diaries of all football fans.

The summer has been full of names linked only for nothing to happen at the club so the fans could have been forgiven when the news of Mezut Ozil filtered through on Sunday night that the club was in advanced negotiations with the player. The Gareth Bale factor certainly played a part in the timing of any negotiations and once he was confirmed a Madrid player it opened the door for Ozil to leave.

The negotiations took a further 24 hours before the signing was officially announced, a long and drawn out process as the reports gained credibility by the hour that the deal was as good as done. You would think that after the summer of non activity the Arsenal fans had experienced that waiting those few hours on the final day to get the confirmation would be a piece of cake. Far from it, things can happen in football; other clubs can come in and steal the player away last minute, the reluctance to add a decimal point in negotiations could scupper the whole deal, plenty factors could prevail.

Arsenal had experienced a similar situation hours before the announcement of Ozil when Demba Ba was close to joining the club on loan for the season. Initially it was disclosed that the loan fee was a sticking point with Chelsea demanding £3m for the player while Arsenal’s valuation was closer to £1.5. The deal eventually broke down though the official statement from Chelsea was they decided not to loan the player to a direct rival.

In the end, about 20 minutes before the deadline the signing was officially announced and Arsenal fans across the country released a sigh of relief. A record transfer reported to be around £42.5 million smashed Arsenal’s previous record transfer to smithereens and not one fan would question the fee for the player. This signing is huge as Arsenal pulled of a coup signing a player of such status and quality and at such a perfect age. This ranks up there with the signing of Dennis Bergkamp in terms of the calibre of player joining Arsenal.

A statement of intent from the manager and certainly well worth the wait; despite the concerns at the lack of signings Ozil will certainly raise the bar in the Arsenal squad and will certainly bring the feel good factor back to the Emirates for the long term.

No striker or defender joined the club in the end and Nicklas Bendtner didn’t complete his proposed move to Crystal Palace. Time will tell if that is a mistake but that factor is totally overshadowed by the Germans arrival. The season long loan signing of Emiliano Viviano also suffered from the pending news on Ozil as the main focus was on when the record transfer would be announced. The Italian international keeper joined Arsenal on loan from Palermo; he’s 27 years old so not potential and likely to provide direct competition to the current keepers on our books. To be honest I do not know much about this keeper apart from the fact he eerily looks like Manuel Almunia. Hopefully he proves to be more talented and proves himself during his time at the club prompting a permanent transfer.