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Arsenal rejected an offer from Bayern Munich for Mesut Ozil over the summer, according to a respected Spanish newspaper.
El Confidencial , a Spanish broadsheet, suggest that Bayern Munich made a bid and presented Arsene Wenger with an opportunity to rid himself of Ozil and replace him with Cesc Fabregas who Barcelona had made available.
Wenger opted to keep faith in Ozil, despite the World Cup winner under performing since his £42.5m switch from Real Madrid. Meanwhile, the opportunity to sign Fabregas was declined and the Spaniard moved to Chelsea instead where he has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season at Stamford Bridge.
The Independent reported last month that Bayern Munich had been keeping tabs on Ozil ever since his move to the Emirates.
It's understood that Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola is convinced Ozil has much more to offer and is hopeful that Arsenal will be vulnerable to an audacious bid for the World Cup winner when the transfer window next opens in January.
Show all 21 Touchline tantrums Nigel Pearson v James McArthur Nigel Pearson and Crystal Palace's James McArthur were involved in an altercation on the touchline earlier this season. After an innocuous coming together, Pearson all of a sudden appeared to take the situation more seriously, so much so he held the Crystal Palace player by the neck. As the midfielder tried to get away, Pearson stopped him from doing so by holding onto his shirt.
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Touchline tantrums Arsene Wenger v Jose Mourinho Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho has to be separated by the fourth official after coming together at Stamford Bridge last season.
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Touchline tantrums Alan Pardew v David Meyler When Meyler gave Pardew a little shove as he tried to retrieve the ball, he cannot have expected the response he got. The Newcastle manager, for reasons probably still unknown to himself, confronted the Hull player before unleashing a headbutt. Bonkers.
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Touchline tantrums Gennaro Gattuso v Joe Jordan Few ever dared cross Gennaro Gattuso. But if anyone was equipped to do so, it was Joe Jordan. The equally terrifying duo were involved in a confrontation during Tottenham's sojourn into the the Champions League. With Spurs beating AC Milan, Gattuso wasn't best pleased but probably picked the wrong person to have it out with. Harry Redknapp said as much afterwards.
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Touchline tantrums Roberto Mancini v Paul Lambert During Manchester City's surprise Capital One Cup defeat at home to Aston Villa during the 2012/13 season, Roberto Mancini entered into an exchange with Paul Lambert when the latter seemed to object to the City manager questioning the fourth official over why a yellow card had not been shown. After the match, Mancini said: 'I am tired of these managers. I did not say anything to him, I only asked if it was a yellow card and he comes over [to argue] every time. I am tired of this, I am very tired.' Mancini then went on to warn others about such behaviour. 'Some managers had better shut up because I was only asking the fourth official because I thought the referee had left his yellow card in the dressing room. I don't like this behaviour. When they go to Old Trafford, they say nothing.'
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Touchline tantrums Alan Pardew v the linesman Alan Pardew thought the ball had gone out of play during his side's match against Tottenham, but when it wasn't given, the Newcastle manager went on the attack and shoved the linesman. An apologetic Pardew was immediately sent to the stands and was later hit with a two match ban and £20,000 fine.
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Touchline tantrums Delio Rossi v Adem Ljajic Now, when managers lose it on the touchline they tend to go on the attack in the direction of the opposition, but not in Italy. When Fiorentina coach Delio Rossi decided to haul Adem Ljajic off after just 32 minutes, the midfielder voiced his dissent. In response, Rossi decided to put his own anger into action and preceded to attack his own player. 'In a few seconds months of stress came out,' Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle said, in a statement revealing Rossi had been sacked.
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Touchline tantrums Sir Alex Ferguson v Roberto Mancini It was the biggest game of the season - Manchester City v Manchester United, a derby match that would decide the title. So when things weren't going his way, it was no surprise to see Ferguson going on the offensive. The United manager appeared to accuse Mancini of trying to influence officials, saying after the match 'Mancini was badgering the ref and the fourth official all game'. After the match, Mancini laughed off Ferguson's gripe about trying to influence referees, sarcastically saying: 'And him? No? He never talks with the referee, no, never.'
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Touchline tantrums Mark Hughes v Martin Jol Agitated by the fact his QPR side had just been beaten by former team Fulham, Mark Hughes didn't take kindly to Martin Jol's conciliatory pat on the back of head. The Welshman accused his Dutch counterpart of being 'slightly patronising', and shoved his hand away.
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Touchline tantrums Jose Mourinho v Tito Vilanova During a Spanish Super Cup between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Real boss Jose Mourinho poked Barca assistant (and future manager) Tito Vilanova in the eye. The incident occurred as the two teams came together for their traditional 'El Clasico' melee. After the incident, Mourinho's spokesman said 'Jose will not ask for forgiveness. He firmly believes that he was defending the interests of Real Madrid.'
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Touchline tantrums Arsene Wenger v Kenny Dalglish Arsene Wenger and Kenny Dalglish were involved in a colourful exchange at the end of the 2010/11 season. A thrilling finale to the match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates that saw two injury time penalties awarded and converted was enough to raise the temperature on the touchline. Wenger was furious that the visitors had been awarded a penalty in the 13th minute of stoppage time, leading to the altercation with Dalglish as referee Andre Marriner finally blew his whistle for full-time. TV footage seemed to show Dalglish saying 'Piss off' to Wenger, but the pair later shook hands and after the game the Liverpool manager dismissed the row.
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Touchline tantrums Roberto Mancini v David Moyes Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini was sent to the stands along with then Everton counterpart David Moyes after a touchline scuffle in 2010. Fourth official Howard Webb had to separate the two managers after Mancini took exception to Moyes picking up the ball, an action the Italian interpreted as time-wasting.
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Touchline tantrums Arsene Wenger v Sir Alex Ferguson The longest running feud in the Premier League at times was laid bare for all to see on the touchline, with fierce words clearly exchanged between the pair. The biggest bust up came in October 2004, when United ended Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten run in the league. The pair waited until they got down the tunnel, where earnest discussions took place before pizza and soup were thrown at Sir Alex.
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Touchline tantrums Arsene Wenger v Mark Hughes For such a seemingly mild mannered character as Wenger, he's no stranger to touchline shenanigans. A couple of seasons ago, The Professor committed the worst managerial crime of all - the handshake refusal. As traditional as the Royal Family, the unwritten rule is that managers shake hands whatever has transpired on the pitch. Should the teams have brawled their way through the game and the managers exchanged insults of the highest calibre - when the whistle blows, all is forgiven with a simple handshake. But following Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, Wenger refused the niceties. The two had been joshing throughout the match, and Wenger decided he'd had enough. He was labelled a bad loser by anyone who cared to voice their opinion but the Frenchman was unrepentant.
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Touchline tantrums Alex Ferguson v Wally Downes A couple of years back Fergie was getting a bit jittery on the Madejski Stadium touchline. With United holding a 1-0 lead over Reading, his team looked in danger of letting it slip - so when the fourth official signalled four-minutes of injury time, Fergie was fuming. And it was Reading's assistant manager Wally Downes who got burnt by the steam emanating from the Scotsman's ears. The two were involved in a fierce exchange before Ferguson, possibly taking into account the size of Downes, directed his frustration at the Reading supporters instead. It was claimed the United manager made a none-too-charming gesture in their direction. Yet after the match Fergie and Downes settled matters over that other tradition, the post match bottle of wine.
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Touchline tantrums Rafael Benitez v Paul Jewell In his later days at Liverpool, many felt Rafael Benitez was losing the plot; but even back in 2007 the Liverpool manager was showing he didn't always follow the script. A clash on the pitch between Jay McEveley and Andriy Voronin led to Benitez and the Derby manager Paul Jewell having their own clash on the touchline. Both saw the coming together differently (don't they always) and before exchanging their views, squared up to one another before the match officials struggled to calm the situation down.
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Touchline tantrums Phil Brown v Joe Kinnear Brown and Kinnear have since moved on to pastures new, but when in charge of Hull and Newcastle respectively, they were only too willing to fight for their team - at times, quite literally. It took the outspoken pair just 24 minutes of the match before they went head-to-head in this 2009 FA Cup tie at St James' Park. A tackle by Newcastle's Fabricio Coloccini on Hull striker Daniel Cousin led to the two managers going eye-to-eye before the referee sent them to the stands. After the incident Kinnear said: 'I don't know why I was sent off, we just exchanged words. He came across and had plenty to say and I answered him.'
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Touchline tantrums Nigel Clough v Billy Davies A rather bizarre incident occurred on the touchline a couple of seasons ago in a match between Nottingham Forest and Derby. Towards the end of the Midlands derby, players and coaches got involved in a melee, including the two managers. After the incident Davies accused Clough of kneeing him in the back of the leg - and reported as such to the League Managers' Association. Clough later claimed any contact must have been accidental: 'It was just a melee with arms and legs flying,' Clough said. 'There were that many bodies in there.'
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Touchline tantrums Arsene Wenger v Alan Pardew Arsene again... this time against Alan Pardew when the English manager was in charge of West Ham. Pardew celebrated a winning goal from the Hammers rather zealously, which infuriated Wenger. The Frenchman jumped up and pushed his counterpart. And then, worst of all, refused the handshake. Wenger was fined £10,000 by the FA yet Pardew admitted he might have been a little antagonising: 'It was nothing personal, I was celebrating the goal. Arsene seemed to have a problem with that, probably rightly.'
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Touchline tantrums Mark Hughes v Gareth Southgate Even when Hughes was in charge of Blackburn Rovers, he wasn't afraid to offend his counterparts. During a match against Middlesbrough in 2008, Jeremie Aliadiere went down for treatment, something Sparky thought was blatant time wasting. So he punted the ball at the striker as he lay on the deck. Gareth Southgate jumped up to complain while his assistant Colin Cooper got up in Hughes' grill. Hughes said afterwards: 'The team was flat, the crowd was flat - it was probably the best thing I did.'
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Touchline tantrums Arsene Wenger v Martin Jol And to conclude our countdown, it's Arsene Wenger, again. The Arsenal boss just couldn't contain himself when he saw his side go a goal down to arch-rivals Tottenham in 2006. Two Arsenal players were on the deck, but Jol insisted his team play on. They did just that and when Robbie Keane netted for Spurs, Wenger exploded. He stormed over to his Dutch counterpart and the pair went toe-to-toe before they were separated by the officials.
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With Wenger struggling to find room for summer arrival Alexis Sanchez and the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Santi Cazorla, Wenger might be tempted to cash in, particular if Ozil continues to struggle to find his best form.
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