His arrival will surely pacify
disgruntled Arsenal followers, and put an end to all the carping over Arsene
Wenger’s transfer inactivity, but no one should be too surprised to see Mesut
Ozil in the role of peacemaker.
As a third generation Turkish-German
immigrant, Arsenal’s £40million-plus capture from Real Madrid has known
division and rancour from an early age, growing up in the tough Bismark
district of Gelsenkirchen, where the spread of nationalities was such that they
could have staged a World Cup of their own.
His grandfather on his dad Mustafa’s
side had arrived from Turkey in 1961 with a single suitcase, not a word of
German and a vague promise of a job down the mines. It was a challenging start
to life in Germany, and it didn’t get much easier for his grandson.
‘I grew up kicking a ball around
with kids from all sorts of different backgrounds,’ he said. ‘When we played
organised games, I was always in teams that were multi-cultural. There were
Lebanese, Poles, Turks, Germans, you name it.
‘It was a hard area, and it could
have been a recipe for trouble, but we learned to get on.
‘We didn’t solve our problems by
fighting but by playing football. We gradually became like one big
family, helping each other as much as we could, and it became like a lesson for
life.
‘I’m a big believer in inclusion, in
people integrating as much as possible, because, as has been the case in
Germany, it makes for a more colourful and happier country.
‘For me, the combination of
ethnic backgrounds has worked perfectly. My technique and feel for the ball
comes from my Turkish side, while the discipline, attitude and give-your-all
mentality is the German in me.’
Ozil’s efforts, before leaving
Werder Bremen for Real, earned him a prestigious Bambi media award in
recognition of the progress he had made in promoting integration among the
various sections of German society.
Similarly, he can be counted on to
restore harmony between Wenger and the agitators among Arsenal’s supporters,
judging by the accolades that have accompanied him to north London.
Germany Under 21 coach Horst
Hrubesch likened him to Lionel Messi, while the senior side’s manager
Joachim Low hailed him as a ‘genius’ and his former Real team-mate Xabi
Alonso added: ‘He is the kind of player you don’t tend to come across these
days. His understanding of the game and ability to unlock teams with a
combination or incisive pass sets him aside from the rest.’
Highly regarded: Jose Mourinho
(left) said Ozil was 'the best No 10 in the world', while Germany manager
Joachim Loew has also praised his star man
Chelsea’s ex-Real manager Jose
Mourinho typically did not hold back in his assessment of the Germany
playmaker, enthusing: ‘He is unique. There is no copy of him — not even a bad
one. He is the best No 10 in the world. Everyone loves him and sees a bit of
Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane in him.’
The 24-year-old’s reputation has
been built on an eye for a pass, normally with his favoured left foot, that
ensures the assists keep stacking up. But while many wait with eager
anticipation to see an artist at work, there is another more basic attribute
that should go down well with Wenger and an Arsenal crowd desperate for an end
to their barren run.
‘He believes in working hard,’ said
his father Mustafa. ‘He is happy to drop deep to get the ball, so much so that
he runs between 12 and 14 miles virtually every game.
‘He collects the ball from
deep positions and distributes from behind to the front.
‘That is what set him aside from
Messi in Spain. While Messi expects his Barcelona team-mates to do the work for
him, Mesut is happy to cover the ground. He expends a lot of energy every
time.’
Culled from the daily mail
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