Wonderful Ozil boosts Arsenal but United’s actions make no sense

You always felt that when Gareth Bale signed for Real Madrid we would see a reaction in the transfer market but like most people I was surprised Arsenal managed to land Mesut Ozil.
You could sense something was up though after Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Tottenham in the North London derby when Arsenal Wenger said there might be a "surprise" coming the following day with a big smile on his face.
After all the criticism he took throughout the transfer window that made you think Wenger had something up his sleeve. I actually thought that maybe he was going to sign Wayne Rooney – because you still get the impression that he is unhappy at Manchester United - but instead he came up with Ozil.
Ozil is a wonderful player – of that there is no doubt. Whether he was actually the type of player Arsenal were prioritising in the window, I'm not sure, but in terms of pure quality, he is probably the best player that has been brought into the Premier League by any team during the transfer window.
It was a big fish for Arsenal to land in the current transfer climate. You would think that whenever a player like Ozil becomes available, the free-spending French clubs Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain would go in hard to get him.
There were some indications that PSG had a sniff but nothing concrete on that score which surprised me.
And then of course there is Manchester United whose transfer troubles sent them in another direction despite Ozil looking like the perfect fit for them.
Ozil's vision is just on another level to most players. He has this uncanny knack of being able to see things before everyone else and create chances for other players.
I know how Arsene Wenger values his wide players in a 4-3-3 system and I suspect he will play Santi Cazorla on one flank and Ozil on the other to help give the team a certain amount of freedom. Both those players are clever enough to drift inside when the situation dictates and chip in with some goals.
I'm convinced that Ozil best position is in the centre but I really wouldn't worry about it too much as no matter where you play him he is going to do some damage – he's too good of a player to be kept quiet and will always make an impact.
Manchester United fans must be looking at the signing and wondering why they didn't push harder for Ozil. If you looked at their performance against Liverpool you could see quite clearly where the problems lie and that is in the midfield.
Michael Carrick is a very good player in his role but I do not think Tom Cleverley is quite up to it at that level and they just look short on creativity in midfield.
United seem to be a bit hurt by the criticism they are getting but why is a club of that size leaving everything to the last minute?
It is an early sign of how difficult life is going to be at the club without Sir Alex Ferguson. Whether he was looking for a cup of tea or a new player, he just had to ask for it and it would get done.
David Moyes and Ed Woodward seem to have got together this summer and said 'let's try and make some cheeky bids and see what we can come up' - with but that's just not the way you do business.
The Marouane Fellaini transfer in particular makes absolutely no sense. Moyes knows Fellaini better than he knows any Manchester United player so why did he not make that signing in mid-July?
At that time there was a set fee, there would be no negotiations needed, the deal would be pushed straight through; the whole thing just makes no sense.
Sometimes you can look at a team with money to spend and you find yourself asking: 'Where should they spend that money?'. It can be difficult deciding exactly what they need, but at Manchester United it is absolutely screaming at you: go and get yourself two midfield players off the top shelf.
Obviously Cesc Fabregas would have been perfect but you can't waste most of the summer just pursuing him when all the indications are that he is not going to come.
Wenger must be looking at the mess at United and at his signing of Ozil and thinking to himself that he has got out of jail, but I still think there are areas of concern at the Emirates.
Against the better teams I could still see Arsenal getting overrun in midfield; they have two centre-halves in Koscielny and Mertesacker who are doing okay but I'm not sure Thomas Vermaelen will offer much competition when he comes back as he looked shot last time I saw him – completely devoid of confidence.
An experienced goalkeeper would help. The jury is out as to whether Emiliano Viviano can be that man, and they really could still do with a player who could tuck away all the chances that Ozil, Walcott and Cazorla are going to create.
They have Olivier Giroud but he is not a Falcao or a Robin van Persie like figure: he's very wholehearted but he lacks some of the instincts of a true predatory striker.
Still, at least Arsenal fans have Ozil to get excited about but you sense United supporters are starting to worry about their season and it is easy to see why.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/jan-molby/wonderful-ozil-boosts-arsenal-united-actions-no-sense-112509222.html