Mesut Ozil surprises schoolchildren with free school meals

The Arsenal midfielder has donated meals for the rest of the week

Students at a school in Barnet received a surprise this week in the form of free school meals courtesy of Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil. According to the Evening Standard, schoolchildren at Whitings Hill school in Barnet will receive meals donated by the German for the rest of the week. During the school year, children whose families are eligible are entitled to free school meals. However, after Tory MPs voted against extending the scheme through the half-term, many are not currently able to avail of the meals. This has led to businesses, football clubs, organisations and individuals instead taking it upon themselves to fill the gap left by government and provide children with necessary meals. The donations are as a result of a campaign by Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who has actively campaigned to end child food poverty and repeatedly put pressure on the government throughout the coronavirus pandemic to help the most vulnerable children in society. It's understood that Ozil has teamed up with a charity to provide the meals, and has been doing so with schools in Enfield and Hertfordshire since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March of this year. Ozil has found himself out of favour in recent months at Arsenal, and was left out of both the club's Premier League and Europa League squads for the current season.