I was intensely curious to meet Mesut Özil. I have always enjoyed his expansive conception of the game, the way he finds pockets of space, the joy that he finds in orchestrating the play. At Arsenal he has made 34 assists in 97 appearances, which translates to 0.35 assists a game, the joint-highest in Premier League history alongside Eric Cantona.

“This is what I love about football,” he says when we meet at the Quintin Kynaston school in north London. “I grew up like that. Even as a youngster playing against my older brother and his friends, I was never selfish. I didn’t want to be in focus. Even if people wanted to put me in the spotlight, I didn’t want it. I am not