The Times (£) are reporting this morning that Per Mertesacker has agreed a new contract.
The Arsenal skipper hasn’t played this season because of a serious knee injury sustained in pre-season, but as with Santi Cazorla the club have an option to renew his current deal – which expires in June – for another 12 months.
It seems that has been taken up by player and club, but the report also suggests that a potential loan move in January is a possibility.
It’s suggested that it would only be to a club abroad, but it would be an unprecedented situation to loan out the captain – particularly as one of Arsene Wenger’s reasons for keeping him is the experience and dressing room influence.
Mertesacker is one of what Wenger calls the ‘dressing room leaders’, hander-outer of fines for being late, and it would send an odd message if a player of his stature was allowed to leave, even temporarily.
Anyway, there’s nothing official just yet, but it does look as if the contract renewal machine has started up again following the Triple Frenchie from last week.
This is great news, if true. We need more Mertesecker at the club.
Good, we have more options in the center while gabriel is on secondment on the right.
Great admirer of the man. Wish he was 5 years younger 🙁
Please don’t send him out on loan! It would curse kos the boss and mustafi’s fitness. Keep the big fucken German right where we want him!
so loan out Chambers and Holding next year?
I love Mert, but I’m wondering if it’s going to hurt the development of the young players.
At least it gives us another year of BFG jokes 🙂
Queue champ manager specialists decrying the fact we didn’t go for Pique or some shit. Mert & Arteta saved the club in my opinion so im delighted. No one can know how he will be after the injury but hopefully this indicates he’ll be back to his old self. Although he didn’t injure his brain (his real strength) so should be good. Also to varying degrees Holding, Chambers, Gabriel and Mustafi all need help to become less erratic and who better to guide them?
I don’t think it’s possible for him to lose a yard of pace put it that way
One more time: of course he is slow, though not quite as slow as people imagine. But slow centre halfs are not exactly unusual: Leicester won the league with two; John Terry (yes, an abominable human being, but that’s not what we’re talking about) never challenged Usain Bolt yet Chelsea won the league the previous year with him playing every minute. And, somehow, Germany did okay with our very own BFG in the centre.
Great news. Legend.
I’m sure the facebook comments on this will be reasonable and sensible…
Will he get in the German national squad now don’t think so games pass him by he’s run his stop gap at AFC needs to move on if it’s about top top players he falls short on this in so many ways we want players on the pitch for their skills not collecting fines in the dressing room
He retired from international duty.
The last time he was on the pitch for Germany was at the whistle in the Maracana against Argentina. Not a bad way to bow out.
One of the most atrocious comments I’ve ever had the displeasure of attempting to read.
If Mertesecker is a legend at this club, so is Pascal Cygan. Poor defender and certainly not a leader on the pitch. Never gonna get back in the team is he, let’s be serious here.
We were fucking shit that season before we bought Mert and Arteta. Remember 8-2. Both of them had an important role in lifting us from that situation.
Giving Bazza_wicks a run for his money, are you?
This is the sort of comment that makes it hard to abide by Blogg’s rules, I am all for differences of opinion but there are times when you just have to sit back and marvel at the sheer courageousness of some comments. I can only hope that was deliberately trolly. If so, give it a rest mate.
Can’t see the sense of loaning him out. Either give him a contract and let the young guns profit from his experience and presence at the club, or just let him go permanently. A loan is just pointless for all concerned. personally I would love to see him stick around. He every bit as good as Gabriel at present.
Been a good player, might be good to keep around to assist in Rob Holdings development but we need to move on and get younger leaders in who can take the club forward .His wages could help bring in someone who could push for a first team start not someone who’s going to warm the bench and any pacey attacker would love to play him now.
Yesterday I was censored for saying that letting Jenks go was pragmatic because he didn’t have the quality to improve our team. Serves me right! Today, my opinion is that extending Per’s contract is the opposite of pragmatic, because at his age, and given the toll injury has taken on his natural pace, he’s no longer able to contribute at the level we require. It is looking like yet another Arteta situation to me – a captain who is good only for the dressing room. I dare to say we have enough experience in Cech, Kols, Ozil, Giroud, Nacho and… Read more »
Disagree completely. Carl, with the greatest respect, is not going to dislodge Bellerin as first choice at Arsenal. For all his endeavour and willingness he is also not even second choice and that’s behind the permanently injured Debuchy. Although I accept that we are likely to offload Debuchy sooner rather than later, leaving Gabriel and Maitland-Niles to cover – expect a right back to be on Wenger’s shopping list in the summer. So, with that realisation, the only sensible thing to do is to allow the player to leave and forge a career at a club his ability is more… Read more »
It’s also like he is (injury permitting of course) not going to play. We have a huge fixture list every year and having him around for rotation with his experience is vitally important.
Not to mention games that we could be having the kitchen sink thrown at us and need another body in the box, one that is dominant in the air.
This is a no brainer, he won’t be getting a wage hike (or maybe a minimal one tops) and he can still contribute in numerous capacities. Honestly can’t get why anyone thinks we shouldn’t do this.
Weve still got a big fucking german!
I like Per but i don.t really see where he fits in now…are we attempting to get a transfer fee for him??
Hahahahah!!!
This might be crazy but I would use him at cb.
Happy to have him as a squad member for another year, he’s still a very good defender, especially against opposition where we don’t have a lot of the ball and sit deep – think any decent side in the CL as an example!
We need depth at CB, so having 4 or 5 is perfect, Holding needs bedding in still, or will possibly go on loan next season, this makes perfect sense and is rewarding a player who has been very consistent and a good leader in the club.
Should not play him ahead of Gabriel, but if anything happened to Bellerin. Gabriel shifted to RB and if fit Mert could play there. If Mert is happy being 4th choice centre half, this is a no brained.
Good news. Represents some much needed steel within the ranks. Who else would have the balls to have a go at Ozil, or to tell Sanchez to fix-up, when the time comes.
With the departures of Rosicky and Arteta, keeping Santi and BFG is a no brainer.
Somewhat surprising
Could be Wenger might consider:
1) sending Holding on loan for more regular footy next season to develop quickly
2)chambers or Gabriel at Cback or rback
In any case one more season with the vast experience of Per as back up is a good thing
May also indicate where the gaffer is going with his own contract
Not sure Per would be kept if a new manager was impending at end of season. It would have been KIV if that was the case till end of season for the new gaffer to decide.
😉
Mertersacker is not good enough to play for Arsenal.he is the weak link in our defence.he has made mistakes that had killed us many times. Against Watford in last season’s fa cup, against Monaco in the ucl two seasons ago, against Chelsea in epl last season and so many other games I cannot remember for now.lack of pace and doesn’t use his height advantage effectively. mertersacker is weak link and should not be given a new contract.But I know Wenger will definitely give him a new contract.
Kingso: It’s easy to cherry-pick bad games and hold them up as an example of why a player is bad. It’s easy to cherry-pick good games as an example of why a player is good. Perhaps, and this is only my wild guess, lé boss and the rest of his backroom staff look at all of a player’s games and all the qualities they bring to the team and make a decision based on all of the above, including things they see on the training pitch that the likes of us who are not football professionals simply don’t see, and… Read more »
Typical Wenger…rewarding his loyal guys with contracts. They’ll pay him back by giving press interviews about how great a manager he is.