Oguzhan Ozyakup move to Besiktas completed

In another move that I thought had already been official for about two months, young midfielder Oguzhan Ozyakup has completed a move from Arsenal to the Turkish club Besiktas for an undisclosed fee. It is clear to me that someone at Arsenal just came back from a vacation and saw a stack of papers on his desk with names like "Vela" and "Ozyakup" and prices in pounds and Euros, and realized that he was way, way behind in his duties.

Today is the day to catch up on old transfers, it would appear.

Ozyakup, or "Ozzy" as I liked to call him because I could never remember how to spell his name, made two first-team appearances for Arsenal. Both were as a substitute last season, in what was then called the Carling Cup. My favorite Ozzy moment, though, came in the AC Milan game in London last year, when he warmed up and almost entered the game, but then didn't.

A lot of people seemed to think that he was The Next Big Thing, but he never actually played a full game for the Arsenal first team, and never saw a major loan. He was nineteen and dominated the Reserves League (though he scored only six times, he was said to typically be the best player on the pitch), but sometimes players are better than the reserves but not good enough for the first team. I would have liked to see him get a chance, but the game is ruthless.

So it goes, Ozzy. So it goes.