Since Joining Arsenal, Per Mertesacker has made 157 appearances for the club. Some of these appearances have been a showcase for his good qualities: his organisational nous, his strength in the air and his leadership ability, whilst other appearances have demonstrated what he lacks. The German World Cup winner has always been hamstrung by his lack of pace.
He’s a man mountain and as you know, mountains don’t move any where particularly fast. Because he’s so slow, Arsenal live a constantly perilous existence. At any moment, they’re in danger of being hit on the counter. One decent ball through to a striker could set him through on goal, because once Mertesacker’s been beaten, he’s not going to get back at the player in time.
For a team that likes to play expansive, free-flowing football like Arsenal, their reliance on Per Mertesacker has always struck me as rather bizarre.
As it happens, it looks like Arsene Wenger’s patience has hit breaking point. After Mertesacker’s horror show against Monaco (where he was directly responsible for the Ligue 1 side’s first two goals), he was dropped from Arsenal’s first team. Gabriel Paulista was brought in and he’s done a pretty good job so far.
It takes courage to drop your captain, but I can’t help but feel that it had to be done. This could prove to be a major decision in the history of Arsenal football club. It could help The Gunners to re-find their defensive solidarity.
The Metro even went as far as to publish an article claiming that Arsenal are ready to ‘ditch’ Per Mertesacker at the end of the season. The source suggests that The Gunners will find it easy to replace the big German and that they’ve already got scouts on the case.
Whilst it’s hard to feel joy at one player’s misfortune, this does provide further evidence of The Gunners’ new-found no-nonsense attitude towards their transfer dealings. If they feel like a player isn’t up to snuff, they’re willing to move him on fairly sharpish.
That strikes me as a major step-forward for a club who have been stagnating for the best part of the last decade.
What’s your take? Is it time to wave goodbye to Per Mertesacker?
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answer is yes and replace him with Stones od Everton and Varane of Real Madrid…we then have the first proper AFC defence since the fab five retired.