Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger compares £44m Mesut Ozil to a Black Friday “bargain”
Arsene Wenger has sympathy with bargain hunters ahead of tomorrow's Black Friday sales bonanza.
Although the Arsenal boss admitted he wasn't aware of what the event was actually all about when asked at a press conference this morning, he expressed his full sympathy with those hunting for value in a busy market.
After all, spotting undervalued talent has been a cornerstone of his financially prudent philosophy in north London.
The Frenchman cited midfield maestros Patrick Viera and Mesut Ozil as value-for-money signings but admitted, in words that will conjure images now synonymous with Black Friday of frenzied shoppers fighting over goods, that he didn't understand people buying more TVs than they needed.
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"I love a bargain. Who does not love a bargain?", said a bemused Wenger, "I don't know many people that don't like a bargain."
"If people need two TVs, yes. but if they don't need one, why should they buy two? That's where you come back to a bargain. What is for us a bargain is to buy players of top quality, because only top quality strengthens our squad.
"I can tell you I bought Patrick Vieira for £3.5m and it was a top bargain because he was a top quality player. We spent £40m on Ozil but I still consider it a bargain because the player is top quality and the priority has to be the quality of the player."