Manchester United should NOT sign Mesut Ozil… and go all out for Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez
MANCHESTER UNITED are frighteningly good in attack at the moment having scored 21 goals in our opening seven Premier League games.
But strong rumours are circling this week linking Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil with a move to Old Trafford in the summer.
Ozil, one of the Gunners' best players, will be out of contract come May, just like Alexis Sanchez.
The German will be free to speak to other clubs in January to potentially secure a pre-contract agreement with a new club.
Could we really see Ozil follow in the footsteps of Robin van Persie and make a move to United?
On his day, there is no doubting that Ozil is a magician, an artist with the ball at his feet and capable of picking apart teams with his vision.
You saw that in abundance when Jose Mourinho and Ozil both joined Real Madrid in 2010 and the playmaker became one of his most important players, on the back of his fantastic World Cup.
The problem with Ozil is that those days aren’t often enough.
Ozil is such a luxury player, the sort who really can win you games.
Take United’s visit to the Emirates in 2015 when an Ozil goal and an assist killed the game way before half-time.
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He tore us apart and we had no answer to Arsenal steamrolling towards victory - a prime example of what Ozil can bring.
On the other hand, Ozil’s complete lack of desire in Man City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal in April 2017 - after which Gary Neville tore into him - exemplified his sulkier side.
He certainly can be a player who drags his arms and doesn’t want to put the effort in without the ball.
How would a player like that suit in this intense, new look United side flourishing under Mourinho?
Ozil certainly wouldn’t be able to push out the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata nor Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Out of the two players currently running down their Arsenal contracts, United fans would want Sanchez over Ozil any day of the week.
The Chilean striker has proven himself to be the match winner on so many occasions for Arsenal in the last few years with the sort of consistency Ozil has never been able to maintain.
Ozil’s success in Madrid under Mourinho the first time around does not mean he would work at United.
You’d be very surprised to see Mourinho go back in for a player like Ozil who goes against the sort of intense ethos he’s building with United’s current squad.
Plus, we haven’t even mentioned Antoine Griezmann yet.
He will be available for £90m in the summer and given the choice of waiting for him or going after Ozil in January, that again is another no brainer - Griezmann all day long.
There is no doubting United will be making more big signings in the upcoming transfer windows as Mourinho continues to shape his squad.
He’s already re-signed Nemanja Matic for the second time in his career.
But on paper there are so many players more suited to United’s needs right now than Ozil, not least his team-mate Sanchez, who is also available for a free.
I know who I’d rather have.
