The club have finally confirmed the signing of German international midfielder Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid.
The long awaited announcement came at 10:28pm, little over half an hour before the window officially closes.
Arsenal fans were left on tenterhooks as the deal took four and a half hours longer than expected, with Sky Sports claiming that the deal should have been done around 6:00pm.
However the deal was never in any doubt, with the German signing a contract and his representatives working out personal terms under the watchful eye of the BBC’s David Ornstein and Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson, who remained calm as the Twitter world exploded amid rumours that Zinedine Zidane was flying in to destroy the move.
There were hour-by-hour announcements on Ozil’s movements, with the deal always likely to go ahead before the window slammed shut. Ozil received good luck messages from injured Germany and Arsenal man Lukas Podolski, Fulham right-back Sascha Reither and Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boeteng as well as Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah and German boxer Felix Sturm.
The Gunners fans were desperate for a marquee signing at the end of what has been a disappointing transfer window up until now, with the signings of Mathieu Flamini and Yaya Sanogo the sole imports of the summer.
However no fan in Arsenal colours could have ever dreamed of having Ozil join the ranks at the Emirates. With Wenger splashing €50million on the 2nd most expensive Premier League import ever as well as bringing in goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano for £1million on loan from Palermo, the Arsenal fans are left in dreamland.
Ozil commented on his move to Arsenal to ice the cake that has been the last few days in the London camp:
“I am thrilled to be joining a club of the stature of Arsenal and am looking forward to playing in the Premier League. It will be great for my own personal development as a player and I am particularly looking forward to working with Arsène Wenger.
“From our negotiations it is clear the Club has huge ambition and I look forward to being part of an exciting future.”
One of the greatest transfer coups in history has ended with Arsenal in high spirits, Wenger in the good books and the fans dancing late into the night.
Welcome to Arsenal, Mesut Ozil.
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