Ainsley Maitland-Niles is living the dream at boyhood club Arsenal as he learns from "role model" Mesut Ozil to try and earn a place in Arsene Wenger's first team.
Maitland-Niles excelled on international duty as he captained England's Under-20s to a 2-0 victory over USA on Monday, and has appeared for Arsenal in the EFL Cup this season as he attempts to become a regular figure for Wenger.
The 20-year-old midfielder is delighted to be at the only club he's ever supported, and is looking to Germany World Cup winner and Gunners star Ozil for inspiration this season.
"Mesut Ozil is probably my role model at the club and he has been speaking to me a lot and giving me advice and tips," he told The Sun.
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"I’m really enjoying this season. Ever since I was a kid all I’ve ever wanted to do is play for Arsenal - I've supported them all my life and it is a dream come true to play for them.
"There’s a lot of hard work ahead for me and I know it isn't done yet. I’ll keep pushing though to try and become the best player I can be."
Maitland-Niles and the Three Lions have qualified for the 2017 U20 World Cup in South Korea next year, and the Arsenal midfielder is targeting success after a painful semi-final defeat to Italy in the U19 European Championships last summer.
"I’ve obviously been speaking to some of the boys and we are hungry for the World Cup and of course we want to go and win it," he added.
"We know it will be extremely tough but we want that challenge.
"Last summer we felt that we let ourselves down a bit at the Euros and we shouldn’t have lost against Italy – but sometimes that’s how it goes.
"What we have to do now is keep working hard to try and get that standard back to try and win."
