Date: 21st December 2015 at 2:35pm
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Ahead of Arsenal’s crucial Premier League clash tonight with Manchester City, The Times’ Henry Winter has held a brilliant interview with Gunners star Mesut Ozil.

Growing up in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Ozil has revealed the humility he learned as a child from his parents still impacts his game today- as does the hard pitches he played on, where he learned not to dive; as if he did, he’d get hurt on the hard ground.

Speaking about his parents impact on his life, and his religion, Ozil said:

“My parents gave me the right principle so I didn’t get carried away. They always told me to be down to earth, that I was not special. They told me always to be nice to people, they said ‘you may have the ability to be a football star but it doesn’t make you better than your brother and sisters. Respect each other, be together.’ That’s how I grew up, it’s a cultural thing.”

“I’m a religious person, I grew up like that with my family. Foe me it’s important that I pray, I pray on the pitch. I’, no doing this to show people I am Muslim, or that I’m a believer, I do it for myself. It’s about my faith. At Arsenal, all the team give me respect, they respect my religion, I respect their religions.”

On the field, it’s clear Ozil has found a new leaf and has found his feet in the English game. In his first two years at Arsenal, where he won back-to-back FA Cups, the media held questions as to whether he was worth his record price-tag.

This year, with Arsenal fighting for the Premier League title, Ozil has recorded 13 assists and has scored crucial goals against the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich. For the World Cup winner though, his record is not as important as the team’s success.

Currently, Ozil is just seven assists shy of Thierry Henry’s Premier League record of 20 assists in a single campaign- but Ozil has said it’s not on his mind.

“I’m not thinking that I have to go past Henry’s record. I’ve heard about the record but my aim is Arsenal’s success. It’s lovely to break records, and if it happens it will be nice, but it’s not the most important thing- the team is.”

Evidence of that approach was clear last weekend against Aston Villa, where Ozil squared the ball to Aaron Ramsey for an easy tap-in, and he explained his decision was all about getting the right result.

“It was on my right foot, so it’s 50/50 if I score. I saw he was in a better position than me, so he could score 100%. It is more important to give the ball to the player in the better position than to shoot myself and risk missing.”

“It would make the game easier for us if I played the ball to him, we go 2-0 in front and we win the game. Both assists and goals give me pleasure because both end up with a goal for the team. I’m a creative player and it makes me equally proud and happy to assist as well as score. Of course it makes me happy if the fans take pleasure from watching me play but I pay for the team, not for myself.’

Looking over the comments made by Ozil, and the style of play we’ve seen from him over the past few years, it’s easy to draw comparisons to Dennis Bergkamp- an extremely talented player, world-class, but one that put the team’s performance ahead of personal glory.

If Ozil can be half the player Bergkamp was at Arsenal, then we’re set for many years of success ahead of us- and that’s an exciting thought.

 

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