Mesut zil has been in top form this season, and revealed that the secret to such success is the fact that he has modelled the way he plays the game to match the style of Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.
The Frenchman, who retired from the game almost nine years ago, managed to win many trophies with Juventus and Real Madrid, and was also an integral part of the French side that won the 1998 World Cup and the Euro 2000.
zil himself has won a World Cup with the German national side, and more silverware with Real Madrid, but now the 27-year-old is at Arsenal FC, trying to win the biggest trophies with the Gunners.
a Zidane was one of my idols, a player I looked up to and learnt from and I wanted to do the same as him,a zil said in an interview with . The Times. a When he did tricks, I wanted to do the same. I always admired Zidane. He was a very down-to-earth person. I watched how he did his passes.
“He didna t do tricks for the sake of it. He never wanted to show off. He just played a clever game. Hea s the player who decides games. I watched his technique and tried to do that in my game, and a lot of times it worked.”
Arsenal can beat Manchester City, says zil
With the Gunners set to face Manchester City on Friday night, zil said that there is every chance that they would be able to take the three points in this crucial clash, high up on the table.
a I believe we will take the three points from City,” said zil. “We want to win because ita s at our home and we want to be successful. We are more hungry this season.
“Look at the Champions League. You could see us in Athens against Olympiacos we just needed two goals but we went for the third one. We showed more confidence, more hunger.a