Per Mertesacker: Our loving German

Per Mertesacker, the Big f*****g German!

You don’t need pace to be a successful, quality defender such as Per Mertesacker, and he certainly shows that game in, game out. All 6ft 6 inches of him!

The big German defender was born on the 29th of Steptmer 1984 in Hanover in Germany (obviously) and the 6ft 6 giant has established himself at club level as well as international level.

Per Mertesacker in his Hannover 96 days, look at his lovable face!

Per’s early footballing career saw him come through the ranks at German side Hannover 96 and in November 2003, he made his professional debut for Hannover in a game against FC Koln in a 2-1 win, despite being substituted on the 46th minute. Per was then sat on the bench for the 3 games Hannover played afterwards and played his first full 90 minute game in a 1-0 loss against Borussia Mönchengladbach on the 6th of March 2003.

Throughout the 2003-2004 season, Per played a total of 1,115 minutes for Hannover and was beginning to make a name for himself in the German league thanks to his constant ability to be able to improve his game and the media in Germany nicknamed him the “Defence Pole”, or “die Abwehrlatte” in German.

In August 2006, Per’s career at Hannover 96 came to an end as he joined fellow German team Werder Bremen in a €5 million transfer, just after an impressive performance for Germany in the World Cup and although the German defender picked up an injury and missed over a month for his new side, he was quick to make sure his fellow competitors for the centre back spot knew that he would make that position his own. Scoring wasn’t a huge part of Per’s game but he scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 Champions League game against London club Chelsea which put a stop to their impressive unbeaten run in the competition, and later on in the season when Werder Bremen locked horns with Hannover 96, the club which Mertesacker grew up loving thanks to their faith in his abilities, Per scored a goal in the game but showed his class and respect for his former employers by refusing to celebrate his goal. In the 2006-2007 season for Werder Bremen, Per made a total of 44 starts for club and country, scoring 4 goals and only picking up 2 yellow cards, which meant he would carry on his reputation of “Mr. Clean” at his new club, a reputation formed at his former club Hannover.

After his first season with Werder Bremen, Per seemed to grow in his self-confidence and his ability to play the game at a constant high standard was fast developing, and thanks to his experience on the international stage for Germany and at Hannover 96, Per improved his ability to be able to read the game well and intercept the ball as it was coming towards him. All of the attributes were there to make one of the greatest defenders in the German league, but did he live up to his own expectations?

Per signed a 2-year contract extension after the Euro 2008 competition had ended but again, like the World Cup, he returned to his club injured and missed the start of the season with a knee injury as well as having an illness. After returning from injury in September, he scored a goal to break the deadlock in a game against Hamburg in the German Cup, and his team went on to win the game 4-2 on penalties, or pelanties, as Santos would say, right gays?

In the 2009-2010 season, Per and his team started the season off with an emphatic 5-0 win over FC Union Berlin and scored yet another goal in his career, this time being against Hoffenheim in which Werder Bremen went on to win the game 2-0, and as the season came to an end, Per made an astonishing 55 appearances for both club and country, picking up just 1 yellow card in the process. I know right, how does he do it?

In the closing stages of his career with Werder Bremen, Mertesacker’s constant growth in his defensive abilities grew and grew, and in 2 seasons he picked up just 1 yellow card in 63 games, something many people would laugh about if you told them that it happened, but thanks to Per’s belief in his ability, he carried on his form from Hannover 96, all the way through his Werder Bremen career and to this day he is still showing that defenders do not need pace to be able to cope with pacey, attacking threats that other teams may show.

The BFG signs for Arsenal for £10million

On the 31st of August 2011, Per made a step up in his footballing career as he seized a move away from Werder Bremen and joined London club Arsenal on a deal worth £10million and was handed the number 4 shirt, a shirt previously worn by the likes of Patrick Vieira and Francesc Fabregas (previous captains for the club).

When Arsenal announced the signing of Per shortly after THAT game against Manchester United, my hopes of better defensive stability had shot up, Per had proven in Germany that he was amongst the best in the German league and here he was, wearing the colours of Arsenal, on the verge of making his debut against Swansea. In Mertesacker’s first year at Arsenal, I think it’s fair to say he struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League and the physicality of it all and having to constantly be at the very top of your game.

Per quickly found out that the physicality of the English league was a regular occurrence and that if he was to succeed and become a vital part of the Arsenal team, he would have to improve his abilities even further after signing from Werder Bremen. Per also stated that he found it hard at first due to the fact the EPL has no winter break.

Since Per joined the club he has partnered Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny at centre back and the year after he signed for the club, Laurent found himself on the sidelines after suffering an injury, which mean Vermaelen and Mertesacker would be the Arsenal defensive partnership and it started out well, with many clean sheets they seemed to just click, the missing puzzle piece in the seemingly scrambled defensive Arsenal jigsaw.

Anyway, the 2012-2013 season saw an emphatic 2-0 win over Liverpool in which saw Per become one of the stand out players of the game and the fans and media a-like began to realise that he was finally adapting to the quick tempo of the Premier League. Soon after the 2-0 victory over Liverpool, Per made a total of 7 interceptions in a game against Manchester City and helped his team earn a point at the Etihad and deservedly won man of the match.

Passion for the badge: Per Mertesacker scores against Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling 5-2 victory

Mertesacker’s first Arsenal goal came in a north London derby game against Tottenham Hotspur as Arsenal grabbed all 3 points in an incredible 5-2 victory, and the Germans leadership qualities shone through the Arsenal team as he captained the team in a 3-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. Per received just his 3rd career red card for a ‘professional foul’ on Shane Long in the penalty area and despite this setback, Arsenal went on to win the game 2-1.

Towards the end of the 2012-2013 season, Per Meresacker has well and truly clicked into the stride of the Premier League and partnering fellow defender Laurent Koscielny in the team seems to be the kind of defensive partnership that Arsenal have been crying out for for many years, and up until recently the pair were unbeaten for over 2 years when they have both played the full 90 minutes of a game.

Per was also named temporary captain this season for a while due to injuries to both Arteta and Vermaelen, but with Per fast becoming a fan favourite amongst the Arsenal faithful, he would be in contention for a permanent captains role at the club and with his passion for Arsenal running through his veins, he seems to be an ideal candidate.

Per’s first goal this season came against Stoke City after a free-kick from the man of the moment Mesut Ozil and after a magnificent performance against Borrusia Dortmund in the Champions League which saw him win man of the match, Per’s performances have helped Arsenal shoot to the top of the Premier League in a season that many Arsenal fans are hopeful this could finally be the year that we end our long, painful trophy drought.

Per Mertesacker made his 100th appearance in Arsenal colours earlier this year in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa and he has been continuing his good form from last season into this season and is largely to thank for Arsenal’s good performances in the league.

For many, Mertesacker and Koscielny are the two best centre backs in the league and they have been so consistent in the last year that it seems inconceivable that they could ever be separated from the Arsenal team.

For me, Per Mertesacker has been one of the players that has improved significantly over the course of his Arsenal career and despite his age, 29, I still think he can only improve from here on out and if the partnership with Koscielny continues the way it is, it’s only a matter of time until we have a trophy winning team, if we don’t already..

Lee Dixon compares the two players to Tony Adams and Martin Keown. High praise for the two defenders!

Per Mertesacker: A born leader

As what seems to be becoming a feature of my blog entries, I asked my Twitter followers more questions, this time I asked them: (And yes, you guessed it, clicking on the persons @ will direct you to their Twitter page!)

“What do you think makes Per Mertesacker a good defender?”

And @TheRunner87 said: “How he reads the game. Ever since he arrived, we all agreed on that. Now he’s adapted to the pace and is even better“

@Demetrios_Lati said: “leadership skills, positioning (other than against Liverpool), interceptions and tackling #BFG“

Whilst @patrickcahill7 said: “his reading of the game, positioning and tackling and organisational skills, only down fall is lack of pace“

And finally, @GoonerUpdates said: “His passion for the club and determination to win every single game he plays“

I also asked them to tweet me their favourite pictures of Per, and they replied:

@UsGunners_ tweeted me this picture:

The media pounced on the headlines of “Arsenal in crisis!” after this picture was released

And @GunnerUpdates tweeted me this one:

Podolski, Ozil and the BFG

Finally, @tomauston73 tweeted me this brilliant picture:

Special thanks to @GunnerUpdates for again helping me get some replies to my questions

What do YOU think of Per Mertesacker? has he been the signing that you expected? has he lived up to his potential in his career? can he be the Arsenal captain in the long run? leave a comment below and let me know what you think!