Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed he was confident of securing the signature of Mesut Ozil before the start of the North London Derby against Tottenham, but admitted there were a few nervous moments in there as time constraints caused a few of the sweat glands to work overtime.
The Gunners pulled off quite a coup on transfer deadline day by bringing in Ozil from Real Madrid for a club record fee and the manager could not have been happier with the end result.
"To say it was all under control is a big exaggerated because not a lot was under control," Wenger said. "But I told you two or three days before... I looked a bit lonely when I said I was optimistic but in the end it happened.
"I thought we had a chance to do it, a small one, but we worked very hard on it until the end. It was very complicated in the end because the timing was short, but on Sunday when I came to the Tottenham game, just at 2 o'clock (9.00 AM ET) I thought we will manage to do it. Before the game I knew we were 90 percent there."
Ozil might already be a world-class player at just 24, but Wenger believes the best is yet to come from the German international, although the gifted playmaker does have a lot to live up to considering the caliber of players that have walked through these exalted halls.
"You can only judge about the money -- it is mathematical that he is our biggest-ever signing," the manager said. "It is difficult to compare quality players because we had some big signings before.
"He's at a good age. He is 25 in October and he's already a great player. There's room now between 25 and 30 for him to become a dominant player and to make a step up from that.
"There are many players who are very, very good to make the step to being great. You have to find the right club at the right moment (but) having the mental dedication is the major difference now."
