Richard Keys believes Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker should be named the club’s Player of the Year for his FA Cup performance against Chelsea at the weekend.
The 32-year-old, who has been injured all season, started his first match of the campaign in a crucial cup final against the Premier League champions at Wembley.
Despite the Gunners fringe man being out of action for so long, he still managed to produce a Man of the Match display as Arsene Wenger’s side lifted the FA Cup trophy.
Centre-back Mertesacker played in a back three, alongside youngster Rob Holding and natural left-back Nacho Monreal.
Former Sky Sports News presenter Keys explained why Mertesacker should be named the club’s Player of the Year.
“I’m in complete agreement with Tony Cascarino this morning. Never mind man of the match, Per Mertesacker should be named as Arsenal’s player of the year,” Keys wrote on his personal blog.
“He was awesome. If the win transformed Arsenal’s season – and it did – then Mertesacker had more influence on that season in that 90 minutes than anybody else. Case closed.”
Prior to the FA Cup final, Mertesacker had only played 37 minutes of league football against Everton, with a knee injury keeping him on the sidelines.
Overall, it has been a bitterly disappointing campaign for the Arsenal supporters, who saw their side miss out on a Champions League place.
Throughout the season, fans called for Wenger to step down from his job as his side suffered costly defeats against their top four rivals and those fighting relegation.
Added with that, they were knocked out of the Champions League after suffering a humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat against German champions Bayern Munich.