Fenerbahce have confirmed on their official website that they have signed Mesut Ozil on a three-and-half-year contract and according to reports from Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have agreed on a loan deal for Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard.
The Italian journalist has claimed that the 22-year-old will soon be an Arsenal player but his deal has no option to buy following the end of the spell.
Martin Ødegaard to Arsenal, here we go! The agreement has been reached after last contacts today between #AFC and Real Madrid. 🇳🇴
Loan until the end of the season, salary paid by Arsenal. Arteta’s call key to convince the player. Medicals pending – then deal will be announced.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 24, 2021
Real Madrid have signed paperworks and contracts to accept the loan deal, Ødegaard will be a new Arsenal player in the next hours.
Martin is officially authorized to have medicals then he’ll be announced as new #AFC signing. No buy option. Here we gø confirmed. ⚪️🔴
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 25, 2021
Ozil’s stay at Arsenal finally comes to an end after Mikel Arteta failed to use him at all this season, with off-pitch issues playing as much a role as on-pitch considerations.
The World Cup winner joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 and made 254 appearances for them across all competitions, amassing 44 goals and 71 assists.
Ozil won five trophies during his stay in North London – five FA Cups and the Community Shield in 2015.
His most notable individual accolade with Arsenal was being the top assist provider during 2015/16 – the second-most ever in a single season of the Premier League.
Ozil’s last match with Arsenal came back in March 2020 in a league fixture against West Ham United. He provided the assist for the only goal of the game from Alexandre Lacazette. This season, Arteta did not pick Ozil for a single game.
The 32-year-old becomes the sixth footballer from Germany to play for Fenerbahce, the most notable of the others being former goalkeeper Harald Schumacher.
Odegaard, who is on the brink of being his short-term replacement, has featured in only nine matches for Madrid this season, five of those being starts.
Sportslens View
Ozil needed a move away from Arsenal in order to get any game time and Fenerbahce seems a club where he should receive a fair amount of that.
He is certainly up there with the likes of Roberto Carlos and Robin van Persie as one of the Turkish club’s most high profile signings.
The Yellow Canaries are currently third in the Super Lig table, five points behind leaders Besiktas who have played a game more than them.
Ozil’s addition can help the team not only from a football perspective but also from a coaching standpoint as he could be a mentor to the younger players in the team.
Fenerbahce fans will undoubtedly be willing to see their new signing in action and there’s a good chance of him making his debut against Rizespor on Saturday.
Arsenal lacked the presence of a creative midfielder in their team and Odegaard seems a suitable option. The Norwegian may have been underused by Zinedine Zidane this season but had a very good loan spell at Real Sociedad in 2019/20.
In 36 appearances across all competitions, Odegaard scored seven goals and made nine assists as the Basque club finished sixth in the La Liga table, qualifying for the Europa League.
It will be interesting to see how Arteta uses the 22-year-old and there’s a very good chance of him getting a good amount of game time under the Spaniard if he does well in training and in his initial couple of forays on the pitch.
Odegaard could use this period to enhance his chances of getting more playing time if or when he returns to Madrid.
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