Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Per Mertesacker will stay at Arsenal for at least one more year. The experienced central defender plays for The Gunners since 2011, when he came to North London from Bundesliga’s side Hannover 96. Mertesacker has not played for his current club in any competitive match in the 2016-17 season as he has picked up injury in the pre-season clash against Lens.
Mertesacker for one more year
However, the French manager thinks that his experience could make a huge factor in the remaining games of the season and has decided to keep the World Champions winner with Germany from 2014 at the Emirates Stadium.
There were a lot of reports, that the 32-old-year will decided to come back to his country, but not every team could guarantee type of money, that Mertesacker would like to get. The experienced German has played for Arsenal 207 times, scoring eight goals and winning two FA Cups in the process. His dedication for the club has been awarded with a contract extension.
“He is our leader in the locker room and everytime he is on the pitch. We have got four fantastic central defenders and Per Mertesacker is the most experienced of them all. There were no negotiations between his representatives and our board, because it was guaranteed in his contract, that there is an option to extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium.
We decided to take advantage of it and he has accepted it at the start of the current season.” – Arsene Wenger said for the official Arsenal website.
'It's hard to find a player like Per Mertesacker'
“Mentally, he is a great player, he brings a lot of experience to our team, a level of focus and his dedication for his teammates and for me, his manager.
I think there is no player, who is respected more in our team and that’s why everyone like Per. I see him almost everyday and I’ve never seen a training, where he was not fully ready to do his job. His focus is only 100 per cent, that’s why he has improved so much here in London” – the Frenchman added.
