Arsenal legend Tony Adams claims buying Mesut Ozil was a mistake… as Jack Wilshere is just as good
The Gunners spent £42.5million on the German but former skipper believes it was an insult to Wilshere
ARSENAL legend Tony Adams has sensationally hit out at Arsene Wenger for buying Mesut Ozil – because Jack Wilshere was just as good.
The Gunners smashed their own transfer record when they spent £42.5million to bring the German to the Premier League in 2013.
But now former skipper Adams has claims the signing was an insult to Wilshere – whose Gunners future is up in the air after spending last season on loan at Bournemouth.
Adams told the : “It was an insult to buy Mesut Ozil when we’ve got Jack Wilshere there, who is every bit as good.
“If I’d been Jack I’d have knocked on Arsene’s door and said ‘why the hell are you spending £40m on this player when I can do it just as well’.
"A lot of fans have questioned Ozil and his desire to win.
"When you’ve got a player and you’re giving them lots of money they have to contribute.”
Arsenal are set for a busy summer as Wenger looks to get his team to bounceback from a disappointing season.
The Gunners won the FA Cup but they failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades.
And Adams believes the club need to invest heavily in their defence and not attack as that is where Wenger has got it wrong in the past.
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Adams added: “Arsene has always missed the balance between defence and offence.
"I think he thinks he can pass every team off the pitch and sometimes they come unstuck and get done on the counter attack.
“[Former England U21 head coach] Dave Sexton always used to talk about artists and soldiers.
"Graham Rix said maybe one soldier. I said ten soldiers and one Dennis Bergkamp.
“You do need a balance of the team. They don’t have enough fighters.
"Teams like Chelsea have the likes of Matic and Cahill who’ll put their foot in and get them over the line. [Someone like] Vincent Kompany.”