04 Sep 2013 22:23:03
By all accounts Ronaldo was very unhappy with the sale of Ozil by Madrid. Ozil not only dovetailed well with Ronaldo but bridged the gap in the cliques at Madrid.

The point, the penny pinching and indecision that let a quality player like Ozil go elsewhere when we were looking for a player of that quality all summer, (in fact for the last 4 summers) not just strengthened Arsenal but meant we missed a chance to give Ronaldo another reason to come home. It wasn't a reason to sign Ozil but a subtlety missed in all the mess.

There again £42.5m was probably not in the budget.

1.) 04 Sep 2013
I really wanted to Ozil when he went to madrid. When it seemed clear he was going to leave this year and seemed he wanted come to us I just hoped against all the odds that they would pay the fee it would cost to get him. It's ok bangiing on about defensive midfielders we are really lacking a player in midfield who can create chances like he does and beat a man rather than turning his back and passing it back or sideways because they become unstuck when a player is stood infront of them. I think he will be brilliant for arsenal unfortunately. I am niot saying frizzyhead won't be any good for us but Ozil would have great.

2.) 04 Sep 2013
Oezil is a world class number ten. We are stocked in that position. Of course he can play as a winger, but why would he want to play out of position? If Rooney went to Chelsea then he would have been a top quality replacement. I can see why he wasn't a priority, but would have been a class signing.

3.) 04 Sep 2013
Hi all -
First time post.
We can't change reality - even though we want to.
The windfall from selling Ronaldo was not properly invested, either then or subsequently.
The policy of investing in youth products was dealt a severe blow by selling Morrison and failing to retain both Pogba and Fryers in 2012, whilst bringing Scoles out of retirement. Don't tell me that there is no link between those activities.
and now, Fellaini was not signed until way after his buy-out clause expired and the club failed in all overt or covert attempts to buy or loan quality players. Contrast that with rivals in England and the UK. The change in manager did not hinder their attempts to bolster their sides and make good their deficiencies.
Moyes and Woodward had only one chance to make a first impression. Complacent; Parsimonious; No ambition
Red Setter

4.) 05 Sep 2013
We are not stocked with world class players or world class number 10's. Ozil would have played more games over a season than Rooney anyway so he would not be out of position that much if he was. Rooney has always been played out of position as the rest of the squad as.

5.) 05 Sep 2013
Rooney is not a world class number 10, he IS a world class striker. he was getting played as a number 10 because van persie is a better striker and you can't have 250k a week sitting on the bench

6.) 05 Sep 2013
DJ79, Rooney was a number ten before RvP arrived. I also agree Rooney was a world-class striker in 2010. He was unplayable.