Arsenal: Mesut Ozil turning away China reinforces character

Mesut Ozil’s agent has revealed that his client turned away massive money form China to stay at Arsenal. Which actually showcases a lot about the German.

Arsenal surprised more than a few when they were able to keep hold of Mesut Ozil last January for a deal reported to be £350,000. With both his and Alexis’s contracts running down and rumors flying rampant, it seemed likely that both would leave and the Gunners would hit reset.

But that didn’t happen. We kept the magic man, who has since pledged his undying dedication to the club and even admitted that he would be happy retiring as an Arsenal player. Which is always sure to tickle a fancy or two.

And now we’re finding out that Ozil put his money where his mouth is, as his agent, Dr. Erkut Sogut, has revealed.

“We had some really big offers from Asia, there were some crazy offers. But for Mesut, money was by no means the biggest factor,” he said, as reported by the Mirror. He would go into further detail about what really drives Ozil, with money only being a small part of that.

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In a day and age where reputable players are taking the money and running to China, I find this to be more than a little bit endearing. Apparently China were willing to triple what Ozil is making in North London in order to coax him into their burgeoning league of overpaid international talent.

It’s not surprising that Ozil turned that offer away to stay in North London, where glory awaits, as well as a chunky pay check. But I do think this speaks more to his reinvigoration to stay at the Emirates, whereas there had been questions before.

Maybe that comes down to him seeing a future at the club that isn’t just meddling away in fourth place. Maybe seeing Unai Emery’s ways at the club has pushed him to realize that there is a ton of talent at the club and even more yet to come.

We’ve seen it on the pitch in his desire to make it 90 minutes, in his desire to be a bigger part of any given match. Ozil looks different these days, and it’s a good thing.

Maybe this isn’t everything I’m building it up to be, but it’s just another tidbit that enforces that Ozil seems more intent than ever to stay right where he is.