‘We’ve all followed his career’ – Sead Kolasinac reveals which Arsenal star he has studied

Arsenal’s first signing of the summer Sead Kolasinac may have just joined the club but there is one player at the North London outfit he is very familiar with.

Kolasinac revealed that he has studied Ozil’s career from his roots to where he is now.

See More: Arsenal news: Barcelona want £26m for Gunners attacking midfield target, summer exit looks likely

“He also came through the academy at Schalke, went to Werder Bremen, had a great World Cup and then went to Real Madrid,” Kolasinac is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard.

“From there he’s come here. We’ve all followed his career, especially the boys who come from Gelsenkirchen, where he was born. We’ve all followed his career.

“I spoke to our old coach, Norbert Elgert, who has a close relationship to him. He informed me about Mesut and said that he will welcome me really well here.

“I’m looking forward to getting started and being able to get to know the boys.”

Like Ozil, Kolasinac has his roots in Schalke 04.

Ozil moved from Schalke to Werder Bremen before joining Real Madrid in 2010.

The 28-year-old then joined the Gunners on a record £42.5 million transfer fee in 2013.

Schalke are based in Gelsenkirchen, a mining town in Western Germany with a large immigrant population.

Gelsenkirchen is famous for coal and Schalke 04 football club but it has also produced some of the finest Turkish players in the history of the game.

Mesut Özil, the Altıntop twins and İlkay Gündoğan all heralding from the mining town.

Kolasinac was born in Karlsruhe, Germany but unlike Ozil he does not represent his country of birth.

The 23-year-old plays Bosnia at international level, the country his family originate from.