Per Mertesacker says he’s enjoying the tranquillity of Arsenal’s training facilities and stressed again that moving to England was right for his career despite admitting his game has yet to fully develop due to his lengthy injury last season.
Sitting down with homeland press having returned to Germany on international duty, the 28-year-old spoke warmly about life both on and off the pitch in London.
“You are not bothered by anyone on the Arsenal grounds,” Mertesacker said when comparing his current surroundings to those at former club Werder Bremen. “You can get into your car relaxed – no fans, no press.
“In Germany, it is not like that. If you have a bad run, you feel the bad run bringing high pressure as everyone keeps asking you about it.
“You feel even worse. You always have to react to negative things, and you don’t want to do that.
“When I arrived at Arsenal, the team had just been beaten 8-2 by Manchester United. In Germany, it would have taken a week to get over it with the media. In England, you did not notice anything there.”
Talking about the manner in which training sessions unfold under Arsene Wenger’s eagle-eyed guidance, the centre-back continued:
“It is very [different], we put great emphasis on the short passing game and you have absolute peace and serenity because no one breaks out in haste. However, it’s expected that you always be highly focused on the task.”
Having earned plaudits for the calm authority he has exuded in the centre of defence so far this season, you might have thought Mertesacker would answer in the affirmative when asked if his game has developed in England. However, citing his fitness problems, the player maintained that he was still looking to develop.
“I want this to be the case, but I was injured for a long time so not yet. The change though was absolutely correct for me. The type of football, the difficulty that I’m faced with it is a move that will bring me further in the future.”
After a tough first season which saw him struggle to earn a regular first team starting berth, it’s fair to say the BFG has been the most consistent and impressive centre-back on the books this year. Few believed a player of such ungainly physical standing could cope with the pace of life in the Premier League but his ability to read the game has certainly turned heads this term and won over many critics. Long may it continue.
Love this BFG! ♥
Fucking love the BFG.
That picture at the top makes it look like he’s just Frimponged Vincent Kompany. Love it!
It also looks like Thomas from Ireland has been passing on some of his Shaolin prowess onto the BFG
We’ve got a big fucking German!
haha! classic…
Loki: “I have an army”
Tony Stark: “We have a BIG FUCKING GERMAN!”
Like me
Did i try to hard?
As I Like Per
Per is one cool dude and smart too.
1 clean sheet per mertesacker.
I’d cook him some tea and climb up to his mouth and them ofcourse pour it down his throat.
Hot….hot…hot!!. Mert says.
You’re cool mert, so make it cool. Cool german.
…
Wow. Are you ok?
That’s a brilliant comment.
Blogs, what is your opinion about trying 3 at the back and using wingbacks? I know we have a system that is working well in the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 but I think Arsene make a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 work in some games.
Too right. I’d buy him a ticket and send Mert over to Israel.
Crazy conflict!!!! Mert says.
You’re calm Mert, so make it calm. Calm German.
On other centre half based issues, can someone please organise a giant banner that we can hang at the ground spoofing the one Chelsea fans have for John Terry which has his ugly mug on it with the words ‘Captain, Leader , Legend’. Ours should have a picture of him falling over at The Bridge last year with the words ‘Racist,Adulterer, Bellend’.
Boss idea, M-Corp.
cant wait to see what banners are awaiting the judas cunt when utd come to visit
Dont really recall any games we lost in which mert played in…top, top defender.
Top, top… top… defender?
I think you might be right there, you calzone with legs.
Got to admit, I was worried last season, he looked a bit slow for the english game. His vision is incredible, as is his positional play, and I now think he is our best centre back. Once he is fully fit he may even get bettter.
I think I may do a sex wee 🙂
Per likes the facilities, Lukas likes going to the shop on the bus. Alles gut.
….or even sehr gut. My German is seriously rusty, unlike those that play for us, thankfully.
Honestly didnt think he was up to much looked too slow even though his reading of teh game was always first class. This season he looks awesome actually seems abit quicker to me it’s great having that kind of competition for places at teh club something we have been missing. Carl with push Sagna we ahve three top quality centre halves. I dont rate Santos he defending is shocking. Our midfield is packed with quality and options. Arteta great signing as is Cazorla and specail mention fro Gervinho he has come on very well after a disappointing last season. Real… Read more »
Per: I am so glad that you finally stepped up to the plate and snapped out of that Phil Collins induced trance.
Now I can go back to eating crayons. Red ones look yummy.
The BFG doesn’t like eating crayons. He prefers me!
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[…] Per Mertesacker (who will be in Dublin this weekend as Ireland play Germany, talks about how much he likes life in London. There were gasps of astonishment earlier this week when pictures emerged of Lukas Podolski getting […]