Özil reveals Arsenal was his top choice after leaving Real Madrid

Mesut Özil sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Arsenal’s official YouTube channel. Among other things, he revealed that Arsenal was always his top choice should he move away from Real Madrid.

"I spoke with [Arsene] Wenger and he wanted me at Arsenal. I said 'If I get the opportunity to change clubs, you'll be the first address for me,’"Özil said.

“So what I did after that, we spoke and I decided to come to Arsenal because I remember Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires, such good footballers and I wanted to be a part of that, to come to Arsenal to be successful.”

Özil went on to say he has enjoyed playing for the club and his success with Arsenal, including two straight FA Cups. I don’t think it would be controversial for me to say the fans reciprocate those feelings.

Other tidbits in the video include Özil discussing his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo and how he consoled David Luiz following Germany’s 7-1 victory over Brazil in the 2014 World Cup.