Okay Arsenal fans, not only is Mesut Özil yet to sign his new deal, he’s now saying nice things about Real Madrid. Time to panic a bit.
Speaking to Marca (who else?), the German’s appeared to be knocking any talk of a return to Madrid firmly on the head when asked if it was a possibility.
“A return to Madrid? I am very happy to be playing for a big club like Arsenal, who have some amazing fans who show me a lot of affection,” Özil explained. No problems here.
“I am enjoying myself in London.” Also good.
But hang on a minute, there’s more.
“But you never know in football… We will see what happens.”
After refusing to rule out a move back to the Bernabeu, Özil speaks glowingly of the Spanish giants.
“Madrid are a huge club and I played with some fantastic players there and the Madrid fans are very loyal and still cheer me on. Many of them keep sending me messages asking me to come back. I have nothing but fond memories of my time at Madrid. I had three great years there.”
As if this wasn’t enough to make Arsenal fans a little uncomfortable, Özil is also full pf praise for Zinedine Zidane, who became the club’s manager last year.
“Zidane used to be my idol. I always watched him play when I was a kid and I wanted to be like him.
“We play in the same position and he was a point of reference growing up. I was very nervous when I first met him.
“I think he is a great coach. He won the Champions League in his first season, it does not get any bigger than that. I am happy for him because he is a great person and I always believed in him as a coach.”
If he’s not setting up a move back to Spain, perhaps this is Mesut’s way of getting Arsenal to get a move on with that improved contract offer.
