Although Germany’s win over Algeria last night in the World Cup was hard work, Per Mertesacker has hit back at critics of their performance.
Approached by TV channel ZDF after the game, the BFG was in no mood to put up with any moaning from the sidelines and insisted that qualification for the qaurter-finals was the only thing that mattered.
Praising the quality of an Algeria side who worked extremely hard for the 120 minutes, Mertesacker said, “Would you rather we played beautiful football but got knocked out?
“I don’t know what you want from me. What do you want now, right after the match? I don’t understand that. Do you think that in the last sixteen there’s some kind of Carnival troupe or something like that? They made it really hard for us over 120 minutes and we fought until the end, and then convinced, especially in extra time.
“All that matters is we’re in the quarter-finals.”
Damn straight. We know a thing or two about that whole ‘playing well and losing’ and ‘scrapping out a win when not playing particularly well’, as there really is only one choice in that scenario.
Mesut Ozil meanwhile got his first World Cup goal, slamming the ball home on the rebound after setting up Chelsea’s Schürrle for an attempt on goal.
The former Real Madrid man was also the subject of criticism for his overall display, but we at Arseblog News couldn’t not a single, solitary fish’s tit about how he plays for Germany.
Life’s too short to get angry over that kind of nonsense. Germany will play France in the quarter-final on Friday.
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Here’s a full translation of Per’s interview (cheers, Cyril).
Right on Merte! It’s arrogant to take any team in lightly at the World Cup, especially the knock-out stages. Don’t expect anybody to comfortably win against anybody. If anything, Germany showed great willpower to push on to win it in additional time.
Can’t really understand the O’e’zil criticism from yesterday. I do wish he would get into scoring positions and shoot more naturally, but overall he was good yesterday. He actually worked hard down the left and rarely lost the ball. Plus he created a bunch of chances that weren’t taken. Capped it off with a goal(probably should have taken the shot earlier in the fist place :P).
Pleasure to see him play like that.
Really?
He gave the ball to the Algerians 3 times In a row at one point then decided to do a Gervinho & just run the ball out of play.
Why does Ozil get so much more grace than any other of our players?
He could potentially be Arshavin 2.0
And yes I have watched him play many, many times.
People keep saying he is “world class” but so far he has not proven this in an Arsenal shirt, obviously his Arsenal career is in its infancy so hopefully next year we will see the true potential.
That’s absolute rubbish, he’s great to watch and will be the star that our team will be built around for several years to come.
Dunno which team you were watching last season buddy but here are some reminders http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUiwTMG4BqQ
“He could potentially be Arshavin 2.0”
As could any recent addition to any team anywhere.
don’t mean to quibble, but making an outlandish statement like that is, well, outlandish.
Ozil gets more grace? Honestly I do not see that.
Just got to love the BFG. I watched htis interview on Gerry telly and he was spot on. Firstly any team that makes it this far is going to be a hard opponent and secondly who gives a flying fcuk how their team gets there. I remember watching a champions league game where the commentators were orgasming over the Gunners “this is perfect football” and as good as that felt I’d still swap it for winning the final. Per is capatin material and please let him do the after game interviews with the TV muppets
A very tricky match for the Germans. Ozil wasn’t as eye catching as some would like, but his vision, flicks and precise passing helped carve out some opportunities for them. He worked tirelessly down the left and I noticed he began to get really annoyed with the lack of passes coming his way. He deserved his goal at the end. The BFG done pretty well too. The ITV commentators were continually slagging him off for some reason – I assume its based on his tall slow appearance, and for being an Arsenal player! IDIOTS. He read and dealt with some… Read more »
Yeah, I noticed Swinesticker didn’t seem to like playing ball with him. It might have been due to turning the ball over a few times, but he was also trying to make the creative plays. Once Khedira came on they naturally linked up well. And I also noted all of the criticism was on Ozil and Mert, the Arsenal players. Nevermind there are 3 other defenders, Lahm was less than stellar in midfield as evidenced with the improvement when moved to back, and all 10 field players were not putting the ball in the other net. But it must be… Read more »
Just make this guy arsenal captain already…
When Tommy V goes, I demand he is made captain of our club.
Fucking proud to have him in our team.
We’d be looking at 5 signings this window then. Sorry, but he has to stay atleast for this season.
I think it should be considered even if TV5 stays. Granted, the captaincy just might be what will convince TV5 to see out his contract(?) There was one per-fect moment in the FA Cup semi I believe it was: Game around the 70th minute mark where Per had the boll and there was no movement in front of him. He charged forward a couple of yards while waving his arms about at the players in front of him, while shouting something that was undoubtedly something very rude in German to his teammates in front. No doubt they did not need… Read more »
Even if Vermaelen stays Mertersacker will be the club captain next year.
Absolute legend! Hes captain in all but name anyway 🙂
I actually thought ozil played quiet well last night ! The commentator said he had a bad game but he always looked open for passes he kept the team moving in possession ,haven’t seen his stats but I bet they read quiet well , I think we have the same problem with Wilshire if they don’t do anything utterly amazing then they had a bad game witch is not true .
I thought the same, if anyone it was Goetze who was having a mare he kept losing the ball in the middle of the pitch, reminded me of the Ox versus Chelsea. Also the whole plucky underdog narrative the commentators were sticking to was annoying as it wasn’t what was happening, yeah Algeria played well and the first 20 mins probably deserved a goal but Germany missed about 3 sitters and had over 30 shots!
Totally agree.
ITV commentators piss me off so much!
Aw mate!!! Spot on!!
http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/02/39/16/62/54_0630_ger-alg_ger_playerstatistics.pdf His stats are actually pretty decent. He covered 1km more ground than the Team Average. But in every other stat he is pretty much Average in the Team. Not that great but also not bad. I liked that he really worked in the defense yesterday. Something Özil does not do that often. And the BFG is right! German Media is criticizing the shit out of the game last night. First 30 minutes were really bad and have to be criticized but after that it was fine. I hate the german media for that, just be happy and respect the… Read more »
1 goal | 4 key pass | 3 shots | 88% pass success | 67 pass | 3 dribbles | 8.29 Rating
That pic is hilarious! Like he was doing a Karate Kid impression.
Drax on, Drax off.
keep that one in the bank for a transfer scenario headline story next january…
Even though this has nothing to do with transfers, this (the critics, not Per) is worth a rating on the poo-ometer, surely.
Ya gunners ya!
Anyone else just watching arsenal players this World Cup ???? Great fitness levels from ozil by the way
Yep… I have suddenly become a fan of Costa Rica, Spain, France, Germany etc, while taking a complete U-turn on my love for the dutch team. I couldn’t hack seeing them progress against Mexico. Schneider, Robben, and Judas have turned me to hating them with a passion!
Per is absolutely awesome! Tell ’em, BFG!
Also, did anyone think that Kroos played sloppy and Schürrle was selfish in last night’s game? Schürrle took shots at goal even when there were better passing oportunities etc., which I felt were quite unnecessary, even though they’d struggled to score.
I swear people slagging Ozil off must listen to that prick Andy [ get in ] Townsend and his side kick. Every time he had the ball all they did was slag him off. Pair of bellends. Well said BFG
Ozil hit one amazing pass into the penalty area through someones legs to set up a shot (which was saved I think- there was a follow-up) – it looked impossible but got through
Ozil played pretty well. The whole German team were failing to click in the first half, but he kept going and put in some work closing down and tracking back. I find muting the sound helpful, as I swear I’m watching a different match to the commentators sometimes.
It seems to me that Germany has at least two problems.
The influence of Guardiola in german football.
The absence of Reus.
(and perhaps that fucking Schurrle.)
Ozil wasn’t at his best yesterday but at the same time he did seem to be singled out for everything he did wrong and got no credit for what he did well. His goal aside, there was one beautiful ball threaded in for Schurrle (think it was him) straight through the eye of a needle, and the response of Andy Townsend was to praise the run of the striker. Not really sure why I give a flying monkey what anyone has to say about Ozil in the WC, but I guess we always like to stick up for our own.… Read more »
I would prefer Ramsey as captain, but he is a bit young I guess. The BFG will do for now! 🙂
Ramsey and Özil are the biggest stars of this team, make Mertesacker Captain instead ^. He is perfect for that role.
The best performers were Mesut and Per. …maybe something is wrong with my eyes.
Ozil scored on 120 mins….but Wenger would have subbed him 50 mins earlier!!
Good thing about german v france . We will be getting 2/3 players back early. Think I would rather france win. Mert podi and ozil need the break more
I thought Ozil’s fitness levels were amazing. He was chasing now the ball with purpose right up to the final whistle. There is no doubt he is lacking a bit of confidence. You can see it in how he passed first before shooting, even for his goal. But then contrast that with Schurrle who, as a someone said, shot when he should’ve passed.
Unlike Götze in the first half he had the composure and awareness to square it to a player in a much better position. The goalie would definitely have saved it if he would’ve taken the shot. That’s my take on it.
OUT OF TOPIC :
Dont you think Carl Jenkinson shud be given a chance for few games as our First Choice RB??
I would do that especially after the promise he showed in the season 2012-13
Agree about Schürrle’s greediness, but that was a peach of a goal he scored. Great run followed by instinctive skill. Well assisted by Müller of course.
Wouldn’t go as far as calling it skill, since he admitted himself afterwards it was all luck, which was pretty obvious.
Kroos, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Ozil-they were all the same- nobody was any bad(except Gotze) or exceptional . yet only Ozil gets the criticism
Özil was easily one of their best player yesterday. The whole team was struggling but he created the best opportunities in the final third and never stopped trying for 120mn.
What he lacks right now is probably a bit of confidence to be more efficient and find back that “killer instinct”.
He’s Arsenal till he dies I’ll have you know.
As for the Özil critisicm, it was quite pathetic from the commentators (on ITV) and really obvious they were singling him out. (Just one example: how they were saying he “missed” his first shot, before getting the rebound. Errrr, No! The keeper was quickly coming out so Özil did the sensible thing and tried to set up Shirley)
I reckon they’re still pissed at him for helping knock England out in 2010.
I love the photo. I hope that was what he was doing during the interview.
“This is my impression of you.”
It’s clear that the anti-Ozil media narrative – including from Lee Dixon – is going to continue, even
when he’s not playing for the Arsenal.
We need to be especially aware of this next season.
I was shocked at how bad Germany looked last night. I’ll be amazed if they get past the French. They look massively susceptible to pace and will get destroyed by a side who can produce a decent final ball, unlike the Algerians. And up front the Krauts seem to have lost their ability to put the ball away: Muller, in particular, was very wasteful. Yeah I know he scored, but Ozil looks like a shadow of the player who was brilliant for Germany four years ago; he just doesn’t look interested. I still can’t believe that we paid 42 million… Read more »
6 signings by July 1st in a WC year… your as deluded as a Pool fan
don’t say “Krauts” it’s not cool.
‘Krauts’? Unless you’re an American GI trapped in a Belgian cave since 1944, that’s an idiotic expression that is as relevant to the 2014 WC as critisizing a national tournament for letting down Arsenal. You’re trying too hard, my friend.
Back to writing loads of shite fatgooner
6 signings? LOL, no thanks. Teamwork and teamplay is important you cannot get 6 new players and expect everything will work out immediatly. Just look at what happend with Sp*rs..
We need 3-4 signings..
Keylor Navas, Mathieu Debuchy, Alexis Sanchez, Loïc Rémy/DM..
That’d be a great summer from our point of view, or atleast mine.. Don’t get 6 players in at the same time, haven’t anyone learn’t anything from the misstakes of Sp*rs and QPR?
Why do people tend to be up in arms (down in thumbs?) about Fatgoon’s analyses. Thought this was quite accurate.
Because if you want to express you’re dislike of something, it makes everybody’s life enjoyable if you express it in a positive way. Fatgooner never says, “I really hate what Wenger is doing to this club, it’s not the way I see us progressing at all, I would rather see….”. He can’t resist to urge to flex his debating skills by acting like he is a whistleblower from the bowels of the Emirates and we’re morons who can’t see the truth dangling in front of our eyes. Other things, like writing bullet point lists of arguments or using sarcasm a… Read more »
Nein, Mainzgooner! Zis is not true! The real reason why I get thumbed down is because there are too many supporters on this site who can’t differentiate between Arsenal Football Club and Arsene Wenger. They are mainly kids who have never known any other Arsenal manager than Le Prof. Arsenal Football Club is the greatest team in the history of football; Arsenal Wenger is a senile old has-been who should have been sacked years ago. Because I slag off the past-it French fool I get abuse. That’s wrong: I do it because I care about my club. And yes I’m… Read more »
You just did it again.
As much as I love Arsenal, I’m not naive enough to call them the ‘greatest club in history of the whole wide world’. My mates all like clubs who have never been in the Premier League and stick by ’em; we get to support Arsenal and then bitch when 8 years go by without a major trophy. Try being a Leeds fan. And not all of us are kids, I’ve been watching Arsenal since 1982, I can’t remember those glorious times you seem to, with the exception of the odd trophy playing drab football. What’s really annoying about your comment… Read more »
By the way, if that opening line was supposed to be making fun of me being German, it wasn’t that funny. I know I’m not supposed to be have a sense of humour, but still…
Once Arsene Wenger didn’t sign Fatgooner’s match program when he was a kid, h never forgave him for it. Oh for the days of George Graham!!!!
Who were the commentators for ITV? I watched the match on ESPN, and Jon Champion and Stewart Robson went pretty easy on Ozil, except for one occasion where he didn’t get back quickly enough on defense, but Robson in particular had nasty things to say about the BFG almost every time he was near the ball. “He can’t run” “He’s not an athlete” and so on. It really got on my nerves….The Gunners sold you to West Ham about thirty years ago…get over it.
Start Robson is the definition of bell end knob cheese…. Terrible commentator. Always having a dig at anything arsenal and has been doing all season long on nbc.
*stuart* or is it Stewart…
Neither. The ‘S’ in Stewart is pronounced as “SHITE” (yes it must be caps) and the rest is silent
No, it’s Stewart but you don’t pronounce the S the E or the R.
^^^ Brilliant!
And what a joy Algeria have been to watch in the world cup. I’m supporting Germany in this cup but had they lost to Algeria yesterday it would have been to a worthy opponent.
Ozil, second highest rating yesterday on whoscored, even notched up 3 tackles
http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/836750/Live
I saw Per win every arial battle and make some crucial onterceptions and clearences. But clearly the high line taken does not help him. We all know he has no pace.
That’s not on Per though, Loew has either got to play someone else and lose all of what Per brings the team, or get Boeteng and Lahm to drop back and allow the German forward line to get on with their job in a way that doesn’t leave the team so exposed.
Can’t wait for Mert – Kos battles during set pieces on Friday.
Bleating it is, none worse than ex Arsenal man Stewart “I’ve got idiot written on my forehead’ Robson.
Caught the US ESPN commentary and lost count of the number of times he mentioned Metersecker was slow, neglecting the fact that the entire back line for Germany was caught for pace.
Couldn’t resist a dig at Ozil either. He was made out to be the only German player incapable of passing the ball.
The red herring brigade espousing their nonsense as per usual.
Crucial interceptions and clearances from metersecker throughout the game and vital contribution from ozil of course, conveniently ignored.
Did you know there are hundreds of Fatgooner’s comments on OTHER Arsenal blogs? There’s even more of this!