All the humility that Mesut Özil shows in putting the team first, focusing on selfless assists rather than the glory of scoring goals himself, was nurtured by strong, principled parents. All the balance and beauty that defines Arsenal’s graceful playmaker was developed on a hard, pebble-strewn surface in Gelsenkirchen. The shaping of Özil, a World Cup-winner and one of the most-acclaimed players of the Barclays Premier League season, started in the old coal-mining region of the Ruhr.

An hour in Özil’s enlightening company at London Colney on Saturday reveals a footballer with principles, who still plays the game and lives his life to the values demanded by his parents, who had little money but plenty of love and advice for their four children.

“My parents