‘A Gunner for life’ – Mesut Ozil pens heartfelt farewell message to Arsenal fans as Fenerbahce switch confirmed
Last Updated: January 24, 2021 4:32 pm
Fener bound
The major talking point surrounding ongoings at the Emirates over the last couple of weeks has of course come in the form of Mesut Ozil’s future.
German midfielder Ozil, having not lined out for Arsenal on a single occasion since last March, evidently came to the conclusion early this month that his time in the colours of the Gunners was up.
In turn, as confirmed last Saturday, the 32-year-old agreed to a contract termination in north London, 6 months prior to his scheduled departure date:
EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal & Mesut Ozil have an agreement in principle to terminate contract with immediate effect + end his 7.5yr #AFC career. If all goes to plan Fenerbahce expect 32yo to travel this weekend & complete move to #FENER as free agent @TheAthleticUK https://t.co/b9JCDK3miJ
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) January 16, 2021
This was swiftly followed, meanwhile, by Ozil all-but confirming his next destination, via a series of social media posts.
The one-time Real Madrid standout revealed his intention to link up with Turkish giants Fenerbahce, who beat out competition from MLS outfit DC United to convince him of their project:
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 17, 2021
Ozil bids farewell
As such, all that had since remained was for the new chapter of Ozil’s career to be made 100% official.
And, this afternoon, such confirmation has been forthcoming.
Arsenal and Fenerbahce have released respective statements, the first announcing their long-time midfielder’s exit, and the 2nd his subsequent capture:
Thank you, @MesutOzil1088 ❤️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 24, 2021
Club Statement
An agreement has been reached with Arsenal Football Club for the transfer of professional footballer Mesut Özil to our club. pic.twitter.com/sZav3YsTBC
— Fenerbahçe English (@Fenerbahce_EN) January 24, 2021
And, as outlined above, on the back of his Emirates departure finally being announced, Ozil himself has since bid his ex-employers, and their fans, a touching farewell.
In a lengthy message posted on his official Twitter account, the German revealed his heartfelt gratitude to all who supported him throughout his time in north London, whilst assuring that he will be ‘a Gunner for life’:
Thank you, Gunners! ❤️ #YaGunnersYa pic.twitter.com/lkVI2qHC6X
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 24, 2021
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 24, 2021
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 24, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 27 | 39 | 65 |
| 2 | Leicester City FC | 28 | 16 | 53 |
| 3 | Manchester United FC | 27 | 21 | 51 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 27 | 17 | 47 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 26 | 6 | 46 |
| 6 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 7 | Liverpool FC | 28 | 11 | 43 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 26 | 15 | 42 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 26 | 11 | 40 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 27 | 7 | 38 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 28 | -9 | 35 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 27 | -14 | 34 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 27 | -11 | 33 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 28 | -16 | 30 |
| 16 | Newcastle United FC | 27 | -17 | 27 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 27 | -8 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 28 | -11 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 | -36 | 18 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 28 | -29 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 16 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Willian | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
