Reiss, how did the move to Germany come about? Was it something you initiated?

For me, at the time, I just felt that I needed to showcase myself more and get more game time. I spoke to the manager [Arsene Wenger] and he said that Germany would be a good option for me. I spoke to the people close to me as well and we all decided as a team that I’d head over to Germany. So I went over, trained hard and the results have started to show.

Did you seek advice from anyone before you chose to head overseas?

It was more a case of whether I felt confident enough in myself. Whenever you make a decision, especially one like moving abroad on loan, I think it’s always good to have people around you who you can trust will ask you the right questions. Things like making sure I have enough belief in myself and whether I think I can handle life out there – they were important questions. I remember those people close to me saying “Do you want to go here or not?” I feel like I took it upon myself to say yes. I took the challenge by heading out to Germany and I’m proud of that.

Why do you think players of your age are looking at moving abroad?

It’s because so much English talent has gone over to Europe and got into teams. They’ve had a chance to show what they can do. I think there’s so much talent in England and a lot of players can’t get the game time they would like. So when they see the likes of Jadon Sancho or Reece Oxford, for example, getting game time abroad, it gets people thinking “Could I do the same?” and “I believe I’m good enough”. I have belief in myself to do things like that and embrace those opportunities and I think many other players want to follow the footsteps of people who have done well abroad.

Even though it’s more of a recognised option now, you’re still one of a select few that have taken the plunge and switched to a new league. What characteristics do you need to make a move like yours?

For me, I say it’s all about self-belief. You have to be confident in who you are. After that, you need a good structure of people behind you because it’s when you get over there when you’re going to need that support. It’s not the same as England and life is different, the environment is different. Even adjusting the structure of your day for different training times and different people around you, you’ve got to be able to adapt to that. So you need to have a strong will about yourself and take every day with a positive approach as if it’s your last day.