Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he missed out on the signing of Mesut Ozil when he chose to sign for Real Madrid in 2010, but promised himself he'd sign the player if he became available again after one telephone conversation.





Speaking to ​Arsenal's website, Wenger revealed that he had put an offer on the table to the German but he chose Madrid instead. However, he retained interest after Ozil called him to explain his decision to move to Spain to Wenger personally. The Arsenal boss also labelled Ozil a "magician" for his sublime passing skills, which he recognised at a young age.





He said: ​ “The first time I saw him he was at Werder (Bremen), he played as a left-winger and I could see straight away there was something special there.





“His intelligence is what caught my eye. Mesut is like a musician who always plays the right note at the right moment. When he needs to give the ball, he gives the ball. It is just a pleasure and it struck me at such a young age that he could give the ball and the timing of his passing was always right and he got out of impossible situations.





“It was not forced individually, you could always see that the team play was always in front of his ego. That struck me, because when players are usually talented that is not the first talent that you see.





“I tried to sign him when he went to Real Madrid, we kept a relationship because he called me and said ‘look it was between you and Real and I’ve opted for Real Madrid.’





“I found that at the time that he was very well educated. He called me and said sorry and I’ve said ok and wished him luck.





“When I heard about the opportunity to get him out of Real Madrid of course I was candid again and this time it works. It shows you seeds from the period before work later. That call remained with me and I thought if I get the opportunity next time I will not miss him!”





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VIDEO: What has been the biggest lesson in @MesutOzil1088's life? The playmaker explains… https://t.co/PhN235R7Ph https://t.co/1KzExtWLNU — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 9, 2015



