Mesut Ozil Hits 29: Where Does He Rank Among Arsenal's Record Signings?
Mesut Ozil turned 29 on Sunday. For some footballers, that mark can represent the end of their peak years, and there's also a strong case that Ozil is hurtling towards the end of his time with Arsenal.
His contract expires at the end of this season, and while the Gunners are still outwardly optimistic about the possibility of an extension, manager Arsene Wenger recently admitted to the press that Ozil could be sold in the January transfer window.
The possibility of Ozil leaving the club inevitably prompts discussion of his legacy. If he were to depart at some point in the next six months, how would he be remembered? Arsenal shattered their transfer record to land the German in 2013, but how has he fared in comparison to other landmark signings?
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In this article, we rank Arsenal's seven most recent record signings, dating back to when Arsenal broke the £2 million barrier to acquire Ian Wright. It's worth noting that while many consider Jose Antonio Reyes to be one of the club's record signings, he is not included in this list as his fee from Sevilla included many additional clauses that were never fulfilled.
7. Andrey Arshavin, £14.85 million
The Russian will surely go down as one of the most disappointing signings of Wenger's reign. It's not that Andrey Arshavin lacked ability—it's that he didn't demonstrate it regularly enough in north London.
Arshavin's first six months with the club were outstanding. The undoubted highlight was an astonishing four-goal performance at Anfield, but more generally he served as the inspiration for a team that had looked to be struggling to make the top four. With Arshavin's help, they found their way back into the UEFA Champions League.
However, it never got any better than that for Arshavin. Work rate was an issue—Arshavin rarely showed the application to match his talent. People sometimes accuse Ozil of laziness, but the Russian made him look like a marathon runner.
In fairness, it's also worth pointing out that Arshavin rarely played in his preferred role, behind the striker. For most of his time with Arsenal, he was stationed on the left flank, and there was even one ill-fated spell as a centre-forward. Perhaps Wenger must take a measure of blame for Arshavin's failure to settle in north London.
6. Alexandre Lacazette, £47.7 million
It's far too early to make a call on the success of the Alexandre Lacazette signing, but it feels reasonable to assume he'll fare better than Arshavin.
Lacazette is precisely the kind of striker Arsenal have needed for years—in fact, it's somewhat criminal Wenger did not pair Ozil with a pacy predator earlier. Instead, the Gunners boss persisted with Olivier Giroud, who was never an obvious match for Ozil's playmaking style.
The 26-year-old seems to have everything required to thrive at Arsenal. He's technically sound, intelligent and the coolest of finishers.
However, a note of caution: Strikers are dependent on their supply line, so if Ozil does leave, then Lacazette's success may hinge on the German's replacement as Arsenal's primary playmaker.
5. Sylvain Wiltord, £15.75 million
It's easy to forget that Sylvain Wiltord was once Arsenal's record signing. After all, even when Wenger paid north of £15 million to procure him from Girondins de Bordeaux, he was never necessarily a first XI player.
At the time, Wenger already had Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp at his disposal. Wiltord was bought as a supplementary goalscorer but never a star striker. In fact, many of his Arsenal appearances came on the flank.
However, Wiltord was a useful squad player, and his trophy haul speaks for itself. He left Arsenal with two Premier League titles and a further two FA Cups. He also had the honour of scoring the title-winning goal at Old Trafford in 2002—a moment that has gone down in Gunners folklore.
Perhaps it's fitting that a player who played his part in the Invincibles run of 49 league games undefeated ended his career on exactly 49 Arsenal goals.
4. Mesut Ozil, £42.3 million
In terms of silverware, Ozil's impact cannot be denied. When he arrived in north London, Arsenal had been waiting eight years for a trophy. The German's four seasons at the Emirates Stadium have seen the club lift the FA Cup three times. His arrival was also essential in helping shift perception of the club—it announced them as a financial force once more.
It's an impressive record, but the truth is Ozil hasn't got Arsenal any closer to success in the Premier League or Europe.
The player would probably contest he hasn't been afforded the appropriate platform to perform. Ozil requires a sturdy midfield and prolific striker in order to flourish, and Arsenal have struggled in those areas. However, there is a pervading sense he could have done more to seize the initiative during his time with the club.
The conclusion is that while Ozil has been good, he's not been as good as the size of his fee or reputation led Arsenal fans to believe he could be. He has undoubtedly been one of the team's better players in his time at the Emirates Stadium yet has still underachieved.
3. Ian Wright £3.6 million
There aren't many more spectacular signings in history than that of Wright. It was, in some respects, a gamble. Wright was an unpolished gem—a late developer who might have struggled in the spotlight at a big club.
Instead, he took to it like a duck to water. Wright and Arsenal embarked on a love affair punctuated by goal after goal. His ebullient personality and remarkable finishing made him an instant hero at Highbury, and he went on to become the leading goalscorer in the club's history—that is until a certain Frenchman came along.
2. Dennis Bergkamp £10.13 million
Few moves in Arsenal's history have been as transformative as Dennis Bergkamp's arrival. Although his signing already represented a club-record fee, the number might have been even higher were he not joining off the back of a disappointing spell with Inter Milan.
After a slow start, Bergkamp managed to dismiss suggestions he was a busted flush by producing his finest football in an Arsenal shirt. He did more than any other player to change the perception of the football club, helping the Gunners shift from being "boring boring Arsenal" into the most exciting attacking team in the country.
Bergkamp and Wenger were the men who remodelled Arsenal into a club associated with aesthetic excellence. That, more than anything else, will be his enduring legacy.
1. Thierry Henry £14.49 million
When Arsenal lost Nicolas Anelka to Real Madrid in 1999, they must have wondered whether they would find a striker to match his speed, skill and goalscoring ability. Remarkably, they managed to find one even better.
Henry cost approximately half of the fee Arsenal received for Anelka, with the rest of the money spent on revamping their Hertfordshire training ground. It must surely go down as one of the best bits of transfer business in the club's history.
Like Bergkamp, Henry arrived after enduring a slump in Serie A. At Arsenal, he was revitalised. His pace was electric, and over time he developed the predatory instincts that made him Arsenal's record goalscorer. Nothing Ozil has achieved can come close to matching Henry's feats in an Arsenal shirt.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and follows the club from a London base. You can follow him on Twitter here.
All fees per Transfermarkt.
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