“It’s not always been easy, but it has always been special.”
Those are the words Mesut Ozil uses to describe his six-year stay in north London.
The World Cup winner arrived to much fanfare in 2013, but has truly made London his home and readily admits that Arsenal means a lot to him.
"When I first arrived here I was very excited and a little bit nervous as well. It was always a new chapter and at the end of the day I was very happy to play for such a big club like Arsenal and meet all my team-mates.
"When I first arrived at the training ground, outside there were so many people. They were waiting for me. It was very special and it was a very good moment for me. The feeling was amazing, even the first game at the Emirates was so special for me. All the fans supported me until now and I'm really grateful and appreciative of that.
"I just heard that the club hadn't won this trophy [the Emirates FA Cup] for many years so it was very special for me and for my team because it was our first title. It was important to continue this work and as a player you work for titles.
"If you win at the end of the season, you're happy because you really have worked for that and you want to reach your goals. At the end of the day we were happy with the team. It was special, not just for us, but for the fans as well.
"We keep trying to win trophies to make us and the fans happy."
Ozil is delighted with the way the Arsenal fans have taken him to their heart, and explained how much it means to him to hear the song they have dedicated to him.
"In the game you don't really realise so much because you're concentrating and want to give everything on the pitch," he said. "But I had friends and some of family sending me videos on the underground before the game against Stoke where they were singing this song.
"It was crazy to hear and I was really, really happy because it was the first time the fans had a song for me. Thank you for that and I really appreciate it.
"It's crazy. I can just say: thank you guys and thank you for supporting. It's been a lot for me, of course."
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