What Mesut Ozil said about Arsene Wenger in his autobiography - and why it's reason he re-signed
Gossip & Rumours
By
Mirror
| Feb 02, 2018
Mesut Ozil put pen to paper on a new £350,000-a-week contract at Arsenal, putting months of speculation to bed.
The deal will keep Ozil at the north London club until 2021 and see him become one of the highest paid players in the Premier League.
Arsenal parted company with Alexis Sanchez early in the January transfer window, with the Chilean moving to Manchester United in a swap deal.
Ozil was set to become a free agent in the summer, with both the Red Devils and Barcelona waiting to pounce when the German became available.
But Ozil officially took himself off the market by committing his future to Arsenal.
The former Real Madrid star revealed he "let his heart decide" his future, before signing on the dotted line, but it seems his relationship with boss Arsene Wenger may have played a big part.
In his 2017 autobiography, Ozil wrote: "As far as preparation for matches or announcing the line-up are concerned, Arsene Wenger doesn't particularly differ from my previous coaches.
"He won't tell us the formation until the day of the game. But there are two things that mark him out.
"First, I've never practiced set pieces so frequently and intensively with any other manager before. It's one of Wenger's passions.
"He places great importance on trying out free-kicks and corners. Again and again and again he gets us to practice all manner of variations.
"Second, he's the most gentlemanly coach I've ever played under.
"When he comes into the dressing room in the morning he shakes everybody's hand. A firm handshake and he'll look you in the eye.
"If he happens to miss a player and see him for the first time on the ground, the personal greeting will take place there. In winter he even takes off his gloves before shaking hands
"I actually think that every club should have a morning routine like this. I like it when people show respect for each other."