5 most expensive Deadline Day deals in Premier League history

#3 Mesut Ozil – £42.4m (Real Madrid to Arsenal)

In the summer of 2013, Arsenal broke their club transfer record to secure the signature of Mesut Ozil. The German midfielder joined the Gunners from Real Madrid for a fee of around £42.4 million, signing a five-year deal. It was a statement of intent from Arsenal, who backed Arsene Wenger in the transfer window to get a player the Frenchman had openly expressed his admiration for.

The German started his football career with Schalke 04, before finding his feet with Werder Bremen, where he attracted the attention of big clubs around Europe. Real Madrid secured his signature in the summer of 2010, and Ozil played at the Santiago Bernabeu for three seasons, scoring 27 goals in 159 appearances. He eventually joined the Gunners on the final day of the summer transfer window in 2013.

Since then, Ozil has been both admired and criticized for his performances for the north London club. While the German can be absolutely brilliant on his day, he does have a tendency to blow hot and cold in the same game. Ozil is in his seventh season with Arsenal and has won three FA Cups and one Community Shield during his stay at the Emirates so far.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar