Mesut Ozil explains letter ‘m’ Arsenal celebration

Mesut Ozil has revealed that his recent goal celebrations for Arsenal have been made to pay tribute to his niece.

The Gunners playmaker has celebrated a number of his goals this season by making his hand into the shape of the letter ‘m’ for Mira.

And the German World Cup winner has lifted the lid on why he has chosen to celebrate his goals in that way in recent months.

Ozil told Arsenal’s website: “That’s for my niece. She’s called Mira and when I score now, the goals are for her. She’s too young to notice but she has come to London a few times and has watched some games in which I’ve scored and then made that hand gesture.

“I just enjoy spending time with her because she’s so cute. She’s at the age where she’s a lot of fun to be around.

“We’re just delighted as a family to have her. She actually has an Arsenal shirt and a Germany one too, and both have her name on the back.”

Ozil enjoyed a solid second half to the season at Arsenal after missing a large portion of the campaign due to injury.

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And the midfielder admits that making his comeback was one of his highlights of the season.

He continued: “There have been several [highlights]. Of course I remember my comeback, where the fans supported me so well.

“There have been matches where we have been outstanding as a team and I’ve contributed to that by playing well. That pleases you as a player, but the main thing is that we continue to be successful as a team.”

Ozil played most of last month’s FA Cup final triumph after scoring four goals and notching up five assists for the Gunners as Arsenal finish third in the Premier League table and qualified for the group stage of next season’s Champions League.