Santi Cazorla Opens Up About How He Felt When Arsenal Signed Mesut Ozil

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has revealed in an excellent interview with the Guardian that the signing of Mesut Ozil made him feel like ‘a little kid’ again.

Arsenal shocked the world of football and upset the soccer betting odds when they completed the £42.5m purchase of Ozil from Real Madrid on deadline day in the summer. Many were left scratching their heads at not only how Arsenal had managed to pull off the stunning coup, but also why Madrid had agreed to sell arguably one of the finest playmakers in Europe.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the sports section of the Guardian newspaper, Santi Cazorla has now opened up about how he felt in the build up to Ozil signing and revealed that he was ‘like a little kid’ when Arsene Wenger finally confirmed they had sealed the deal.

The Spaniard admitted he was a huge fan of the German international’s before he came to the Emirates and was ‘really excited’ about the prospect of linking up with such a talent:

“I was like a little kid.”

“I was injured, so it was a few more days before I had the chance to train with him, and I was getting really excited. A great player’s coming and one you know you’re going to fit with, enjoy playing with. I was a fan, looking forward to it.”

Cazorla, like many of us, was left baffled that Madrid were prepared to sell Ozil and he refused to let himself believe it could happen until the moment Wenger confirmed he was now an Arsenal player. He continued:

“It was strange. I spoke to friends at Real Madrid who told me that Mesut was talking to Arsenal, that he wanted to leave. You hear about it but you still see it as something a long way off. You think, ‘How are Madrid going to let Mesut go?’ It’s puzzling. He’s one of the best in the world and you don’t really believe it. We were talking about it: ‘It’s close … it could happen … they’ve agreed …’ Then one day the manager said: ‘We’ve signed Mesut.’ And the happiness was immense.

“He can seem intermittent but when he has the ball he’s different. You get that feeling something’s going to happen. It’s palpable. He has huge quality and we’re lucky he chose us when he had other options. The manager’s playing him as media-punta, where he performs best. Our style suits him and with time so will the Premier League.”

The signing of Ozil certainly boosted everybody connected with Arsenal Football Club and it’s great to hear the players were just as excited as the fans when he signed.

It just goes to show the kind of impact a major signing can have on the existing players. Hopefully we can make Santi feel like a kid again in January with the signing of a world class striker and we’ll be looking good to end our trophy drought this season!

What do you think of Cazorla’s comments? What striker would you like to see us buy in January?