Ozil: I'm a class act

Ozil: I'm a class act

Ozil: I'm a class act

Arsenal's record signing Mesut Ozil has defended his professionalism after making a surprise departure from Real Madrid.

The German playmaker's £43million move on transfer deadline day was met with disbelief from several former team-mates at the Bernabeu.

Ozil maintains it was the confidence of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger which proved vital in his decision to leave Madrid, when it became clear he no longer was central to the plans of Real boss Carlo Ancelotti following the world-record signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham.

Reports in Spain have questioned Ozil's off-field behaviour. However, the 24-year-old has defended himself and insisted he would not let any unsubstantiated speculation affect his fresh start in London.

"I don't want to say anything bad about Madrid because I had three wonderful years there. I have great friends there. We achieved a lot with the club and (won) trophies. That is why I don't want to talk a lot about it," Ozil told a press conference.

"People who know me know how professional I am and I think [in] the past years, you can see how many games I played - 159 games.

"If you are not professional in your life, then I don't think you can play that many games. People know how professional I am and this is what counts. All the rumours, I don't care about them.

"I have a new task here. I am just looking ahead. I am in London now. We have big goals here and we will work very hard to reach these goals."

Ozil added: "You can see by the reaction of the fans and the players that they didn't understand the move, but this is football. You always have to look ahead and I have made the next step.

"My time there (Real Madrid) was great, but that topic is over. I will have wonderful years here (at Arsenal), hopefully I will win many trophies and stay healthy and this what I look forward to."



Source : http://www.football.co.uk/arsenal/ozil__i_m_a_class_act_rss4403450.shtml