Ex-Gunners shot stopper also thinks there is very little to choose between the two recent big-money signings.
Check in to West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has claimed that the north London club have paid way over the odds for recent new signing Mesut Ozil, although the German says that is a direct consequence of Gareth Bale’s own world-record transfer to Real Madrid, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The Gunners completed the club-record purchase of the highly rated Germany international from los Blancos in the final hours of transfer deadline day, with Ozil eventually moving to the Emirates for a whopping £42.4 million on a bumper five-year deal worth a staggering £200,000 per week.
And Ozil’s arrival in the capital came just a day after Bale himself had completed his own big-money transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu, with the Wales international leaving Tottenham Hotspur for Madrid for a fee of 100m euros.
However, one-time Arsenal and Germany No 1 Lehmann has questioned the size of both those deals, with the 43-year-old telling German website Spox: “In all honesty, Arsenal paid too much for Mesut Ozil.
“But that’s because Gareth Bale went to Real Madrid for so much more money. Nobody is worth that much.
“The Ozil deal was much better. I don’t see a £42.5m difference between the two players.
“That’s how that market works when a club like Real Madrid loses the plot.”
Ozil has already managed to catch the eye in his brief time at Arsenal, with the twinkle-toed playmaker laying a goal on a plate for front man Olivier Giroud within minutes of making his Gunners debut against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light earlier this month.