Before the transfer window opened, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis spoke of the impressive war chest that Arsene Wenger had at his disposal this summer. Fans rubbed their hands with glee at the prospect of seeing a number of big-name arrivals at Emirates Stadium, only to see north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur steal the limelight having broken their transfer record on three separate occasions to bring in Paulinho, Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela.

Arsenal in comparison had signed just Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini, both on free transfers. As the deadline loomed, supporters became tetchy at the lack of movement. Then, in the aftermath of the 1-0 win over Spurs on September 1, Wenger spoke in his post-match interview of a "surprise" signing, claiming he was "confident" the move would go through before the 11pm BST deadline on September 2.

Rumours were rife as to who the mystery signing could be, with Real Madrid’s Mesut Ozil the favourite to make the switch to the capital. A pivotal member of Los Blancos’ starting XI, many were of the opinion that talk was more smoke without fire. Yet, on the back of Gareth Bale’s record-breaking move to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, reports of Ozil departing the Spanish capital began to pick up pace.

Then, 30 minutes before the transfer window shut, Arsenal confirmed Ozil had signed in a deal worth £42.5 million, making the midfielder the most expensive German player in the history of the game. Fans were understandably excited by the announcement, with the vast majority taking to Twitter to express their delight at the capture of the playmaker.

Here, WhoScored.com look to the stats to suggest why the Gunners faithful are right to be delighted.

After moving from Werder Bremen to Spain in 2010, Ozil was a consistent performer for Real, both domestically and on the continent. That he accumulated 47 league assists between his arrival in Spain and his departure -- no player accrued more -- denotes his exceptional creative ability.

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