Cesc Fabregas believes former club Arsenal have managed to prise away Real Madrid's second-best player with their dramatic deadline-day capture of Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal completed what is understood to be a club-record £43million swoop for Ozil on Monday evening as Arsene Wenger finally landed a big-name signing after what had become a frustrating summer on the transfer front.
Many of Ozil's former team-mates at Madrid have since expressed their surprise and disappointment that the Germany international was allowed to leave the Bernabeu, and Fabregas also admits he was taken aback by the news.
However, the Spain midfielder, who spent eight years at Arsenal before returning to Barcelona in 2011, also feels the Gunners have got themselves a top player.
He told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope: "I was really surprised by Ozil's departure. He seemed to me the second-best player at Madrid, after Cristiano [Ronaldo]. "He'll be great for Arsenal."
