Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has explained why we will never see him take a dive or attempt to con a referee on the football pitch.
When asked if he enjoyed being regarded as a poster boy for fair play, the midfielder said: “It makes me happy to hear that. That’s the way I am. I grew up like that. I play always honestly. I won’t change. I don’t dive. I can’t dive. I just can’t do that. I grew up playing on that hard surface, and I couldn’t dive on it as I’d hurt my legs. There were stones on it. That’s why we never tried to dive, so we never learnt diving. We didn’t have the pitch for diving. Even on the grass pitch here, I try not to fall down.”
The Germany international added: “In the youth teams in Germany I was always tackled hard but I never, ever got angry. Playing in that No.10 position, I was used to those tackles. I knew the tackles would happen.
“It is better for me to beat the tackler with my creative abilities, not showing aggression or being angry against them. That’s a waste of time. I focus on the game,” he stressed.
This season Ozil has 13 assists in the Premier League and is currently in the form of his life.
When asked if he enjoyed being regarded as a poster boy for fair play, the midfielder said: “It makes me happy to hear that. That’s the way I am. I grew up like that. I play always honestly. I won’t change. I don’t dive. I can’t dive. I just can’t do that. I grew up playing on that hard surface, and I couldn’t dive on it as I’d hurt my legs. There were stones on it. That’s why we never tried to dive, so we never learnt diving. We didn’t have the pitch for diving. Even on the grass pitch here, I try not to fall down.”
The Germany international added: “In the youth teams in Germany I was always tackled hard but I never, ever got angry. Playing in that No.10 position, I was used to those tackles. I knew the tackles would happen.
“It is better for me to beat the tackler with my creative abilities, not showing aggression or being angry against them. That’s a waste of time. I focus on the game,” he stressed.
This season Ozil has 13 assists in the Premier League and is currently in the form of his life.
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