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Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

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Mesut Ozil and Cesc Fabregas respond as Arsenal withdraw from European Super League

Giuseppe Labellarte
Giuseppe Labellarte

Arsenal icons Mesut Ozil and Cesc Fabregas took to Twitter on Tuesday night as the European Super League – which the Gunners had joined – lost all of its Premier League sides.

The football world was rocked on Sunday night when 12 European clubs – including Arsenal – declared their intention to take part in the breakaway midweek competition.

The Gunners were joined by five other Premier League sides – Spurs, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

In this photo illustration, the UK football teams that are
(Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Six Italian and Spanish clubs were also involved – AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.

However, the news was met with intense backlash as many fans, pundits, players and officials from England and Europe heavily criticised the proposals.

Chelsea and Manchester City were first to subsequently announce their intention to withdraw, and by the evening, all six English clubs had dropped out.

Fabregas paid tribute to the fans:

And Ozil, now playing for Superlig giants Fenerbahce, gave a tongue-in-cheek response, saying there is only one “Super League”:

Arsenal announced their decision to withdraw with an open letter from the club’s board shared to Twitter at 10:55pm on April 20.

It : “The last few days have shown us yet again the depth of feeling our supporters around the world have for this great club and the game we love.

“We needed no reminding of this but the response from supporters in recent days has given us time for further reflection and deep thought.

“It was never our intention to cause such distress, however when the invitation to join the Super League came, while knowing there were no guarantees, we did not want to be left behind to ensure we protected Arsenal and its future.

“As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League. We made a mistake, and we apologise for it.”