Malappuram: Football, we say rather proudly, is the religion of northern Kerala. For thousands in the region, the game is as precious as their own lives.
Inzamam Ul-Haq of Manjeri is one of them and had grabbed headlines sometime back as he named his son, born in December 2017, Mehd Ozil. In April, Onmanorama had reported about the young parents, Inzamam Ul-Haq and Fida Sanam, and their baby. The parents said that they named the boy so purely because of their love for the Gunners.
Knowing about the baby, the Arsenal officials had visited the small town in Kerala to acknowledge the couple's love for the club. They also made a short video of baby Ozil and family titled 'A story of a special young fan from Kerala', which grabbed global media attention. Arsenal had shared the rare expression of adoration on their official social media handles then.
The news of this rare bonding did not end there. This time, the club has sent a cute little Arsenal jersey for Mehd Ozil as a present.
Offering a big hug to the fan in the distant land, star player Mesut Ozil himself took to the camera and said he made the little fan jersey for Mehd Ozil. Arsenal has shared the news with a video on their official Facebook page.
In the video, Inzamam hoped he would be able to meet Ozil some day. Inzamam, a 26-year old civil engineer, has been an ardent fan of the English club from childhood itself.
