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Arsenal splashes cash to ink Ozil
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Mesut Ozil quit Real Madrid to join Arsenal because he realized he no longer had the confidence of Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, the midfielder said yesterday.
The English Premier League club smashed its transfer record to sign Ozil for 42.5 million pounds (US$66.15 million) on Monday, days after he said he would stay with Real for a fourth season.
Ozil was on the bench for Sunday’s 3-1 victory to Bilbao.
“I was certain... that I would stay at Real Madrid,” Ozil told the German soccer federation’s website (www.dfb.de) yesterday. “Then I realized that I didn’t have the confidence of the coach and the officials after all.
“I am a player who needs that confidence and I saw that I would have that at Arsenal and that is why I am going there.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United bought midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Everton for 27.5 million pounds.
The Ozil and Fellaini transfers pushed spending by Premier League clubs over 600 million pounds for the summer, a record amount.
Ozil’s fee easily outstrips Arsenal’s previous largest transfer — 15 million pounds for Andrey Arshavin in 2009.
“We have signed a world-class player who is one of Europe’s brightest young talents,” chief executive Ivan Gazidis said.
Fellaini was the only notable signing since David Moyes replaced Alex Ferguson as United manager at the end of last season.
Moyes turned to former club Everton, after being unable to mark the start of his reign with a marquee signing.
“When I was given the opportunity to work with (Moyes) again, I jumped at the chance,” Fellaini said.
While raising money from the sale of Fellaini, Everton signed midfielder James McCarthy from Wigan for 13 million pounds, and brought Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku and Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry in on season-long loans.
Lukaku was the sixth highest scorer in the Premier League last season with 17 goals.
West Bromwich Albion added Victor Anichebe from Everton in a deal worth up to 6 million pounds and Stephane Sessegnon from Sunderland.
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