Watch video - Kerala youth names newborn after Arsenal's Mesut Ozil!

Manjeri, April 8: In Kerala, a state where football trumps cricket in popularity, a diehard Arsenal fan from the football crazy district of Malappuram has named his new born after German player Mesut Ozil. Inzamam Ul-Haq says when his wife Fidha Sanam became pregnant, he had decided that if it was a boy, he would name him after Ozil, the German professional footballer who plays for the Premier League club Arsenal.

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The news of Inzamam and his baby somehow reached Arsenal in London, who sent their media team to Malappuram to shoot the story of Inzamam and Ozil. The video titled 'A story of a special young fan from Kerala' was shared in Arsenal's official page too and needless to say, it has gone viral.

"We had decided if it was a boy, we will name him after some Arsenal player. Ozil was my first priority," Inzamam, who was himself named after former Pakistan cricket captain, said. His second choice was Mohamed Elneny, the Egyptian footballer, another Arsenal player.

The real Ozil:

Training in style 🤣💪🏼⚽️ #fashion #YaGunnersYa @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/3eEDzUQrsI

— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) April 7, 2018

Inzamam, a civil engineer by profession, says he was a big fan of Ozil, "who uses chances and sees spaces that other players do not see," he said in the video shot by Arsenal's media team.

The child, born on December 29, 2017 and was named Mehd, which means instructor and Ozil (Genuine) in Turkish, instead of Mesut. "I was looking for some meaning in the name and that's why I chose to go with Mehd, meaning instructor," Inzamam says in the video. "Some (of my friends) were saying Arsene Wenger! But I have to consider some facts as well because I am a religious man and I was looking for Muslim names that currently play for Arsenal."

Inzamam says he is a big fan of Ozil, the attacking midfielder and that if his son was interested, he would do everything to make him a good football player. He said that as a child, he was interested in sports and loved Arsenal and its red and white jersey.

Inzamam added that he would want his child to become a player like the real Ozil. "I wish he becomes a big star like Ozil but I'll leave it up to him! If he gets chance and if he is interested, I will obviously choose some coaching and I will make him a football player," he said.

Malappuram in Kerala's northern district is the soccer capital of Kerala.