COMMENT: The two club-record signings go head-to-head on Monday in the FA Cup quarter-final and they have thus far struggled to show their Galactico credentials
Add the fees up. It is a safe bet Real Madrid's accountants have done. They come to over €130 million. For two players they signed for around €50m. For two they wanted to sell. For two who didn't quite meet their exalted definition as glamorous Galacticos.
Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil meet on Monday. It is harsh to brand them the Real rejects. Not when the Argentine was the man of the match in the Champions League final or when they were two of Cristiano Ronaldo's favourite team-mates, the selfless suppliers to the selfish scorer.
Yet the fact remains that Real felt they had upgraded when they sold both. Ozil went after the world's most expensive player Gareth Bale arrived, Di Maria following the signing of the World Cup's top scorer James Rodriguez. If Arsenal had not paid €53m for Ozil, the chances are that no one else would have done. Manchester United contrived to spend €78.5m on Di Maria when they were the only bidders.
And it is an understatement to say that neither has justified his price tag or his reputation so far. Each began in auspicious fashion. Ozil's first five Premier League games brought two goals and three assists. Di Maria scored and created three apiece in his first five outings. First appearances proved deceptive. Neither has maintained that excellent, initial form. Now both are flattered by the statistics. Di Maria's assists include mishit shots which have fallen fortunately for team-mates. Ozil's tally was boosted when Tomas Rosicky's shot took a sizeable deflection off Phil Jagielka on its way into the Everton net.
The more telling indications of their impact came within the space of four days last week. Di Maria was hauled off at half-time against Sunderland. Ozil was anonymous against Monaco. The German had made an encouraging start to 2015, answering questions over whether Arsenal's record buy figured in their strongest side. Then, once again, he underperformed in a major game to reopen the debate.
Perhaps their signings say more about their clubs than the players themselves. Their self-esteem was so fragile, their confidence so low, that they welcomed the prospect of signing a Real Madrid player at any price. Arsenal had endured years of selling their top talents. Manchester United had just completed a shocking season. Each was star-struck by a superstar. And that, for clubs of their size, borders on the embarrassing.
In each case, the sense of excitement about their arrival camouflaged concerns over whether they were the players they actually needed. Ozil was a No.10 joining a club who, in Rosicky, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, had a surfeit of attacking central midfielders. He has rarely convinced as a winger.
United signed one, just as Louis van Gaal considered playing formations without width in the final third. Di Maria has been a central midfielder in a 3-5-2 formation or used in various parts of a midfield diamond. He has even, strangely and unsuccessfully, been tried as a striker. Yet the positional problem may be secondary to the stylistic mismatch.
The Argentine brings the impatience and direct, attack-minded intent of past United teams, just as Van Gaal has implemented a ponderous possession game. The less inventive some of his team-mates' passing is, the more ambitious Di Maria becomes. Then he gives the ball away all the more in ever more desperate attempts to make something happen.
It renders him both similar to, and yet the opposite of, United's last record-breaking Argentine. Juan Sebastian Veron was their record buy, too, and he was a man out of time. His more languid style might have suited Van Gaal's team, but not Sir Alex Ferguson's. Di Maria could have bombed along the flanks like one of the Scot's speedsters. That has rarely been an option in the Dutchman's side.
The probability is that, having paid so far over the odds for Ozil and Di Maria, Arsenal and United are stuck with their flagship signings. It gives them an added responsibility to enable them to realise their potential. It may provide a cautionary tale if United are tempted to bid for Gareth Bale or anyone else suddenly deemed surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu.
And the recent lesson in the Premier League is that clubs have bought better when recruiting the boys from Barcelona. Those who want to phrase it as bluntly can say Catalan cast-offs are outperforming Real rejects. Arsenal are proof of that. Alexis Sanchez may show few signs of developing an understanding with Ozil, but he has the hunger, the energy, the adaptability and the finishing prowess to prosper in England. Cesc Fabregas is the division's most creative player. He has helped complete Jose Mourinho's Chelsea jigsaw.
But Fabregas was bought because of a blueprint. His signing was planned, not an opportunistic, end-of-transfer-window move to sprinkle stardust and satisfy spectators. Sanchez was identified early by Arsenal (and Liverpool). There was method behind the money.
Barcelona may not need either, but both have shown their abundant ability in England. They may wonder if they could have commanded a bigger price for either. In contrast, Real can celebrate their negotiating skills. They have banked a nine-figure sum for Ozil and Di Maria. For them, though not for Arsenal and United, they really have been the Real deal.
