Arsenal star Mesut Ozil has told the club’s young players that the most important thing in the game is to believe in yourself and have fun.
The 30-year-old has been at the top of the game since debuting for Schalke in 2006 and has since turned out for Werder Bremen and Real Madrid as well as the Gunners. Over the course of his career, he has won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, building a reputation as one of the game’s top No.10s.
As such, he is well placed to instruct youngsters how to reach the pinnacle of the game.
“I just want to say that the most important thing is to believe in yourself," Ozil told Arsenal Player. “Of course you have some days when it doesn't go so well but you have to believe in yourself, keep working and the most important thing is to have fun.
“If you don't have fun, if you are losing and you make mistakes you will be disappointed. But don't listen to anyone, you know how good you are, believe in yourself and have fun.”
Ozil recounted his first experience of a top-team dressing room and admitted that he was intimidated ahead of his debut.
“I was just looking and thinking: ‘Oh my God, now I am here! Now I have to show my quality,’” he said. “I remember Hamit Altintop, Mladen Krstajic, Marcelo Bordon, Lincoln, Kevin Kuryani, Gerald Asamoah - those people helped me a lot, and it was easier for me to show my potential on the pitch because they all helped me a lot. They stood behind me, so I was able to just enjoy playing football.”
The 30-year-old has yet to feature this season, having been left out of Unai Emery’s squad following security concerns after he had team-mate Sead Kolasinac were the victims of an attempted carjacking late in pre-season.
Last term, he played 24 Premier League matches for the Gunners, scoring five goals, while he had a big role to play in their push to the Europa League final, in which he played 10 times.
