Per Mertesacker has lifted the lid on the unusual circumstances behind him joining Arsenal.
The BFG spent seven seasons playing at the Emirates, making over 200 appearances, and turned out to be one of Arsene Wenger’s most important defensive signings.
Speaking on Einfach mal Luppen, the podcast hosted by Toni Kroos and his brother Felix, Mertesacker recalled the ‘strange’ sequence of events that led to his move to the Emirates in the summer of 2011.
Arsenal had just suffered one of the most humiliating results in the club’s history — an 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford.
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It was a result that sent shockwaves through the club and left Wenger scrambling to strengthen his squad in the final days of the transfer window.
“That was a bit of a strange situation,” Mertesacker said. “I’d already played a few games, and then during the week Arsenal lost 8-2 against Manchester United — after that, Arsene Wenger called me.
“So I was in Klaus Alofs’ office, and he said, ‘We need at least 10 million for you.’ And then I passed on the information, and everything fell into place, because I was already kind of prepared to want to go to the Premier League at some point.
“And then Arsenal was really the only option I considered.”
Per Mertesacker was one of Arsene Wenger’s most important signings
Mertesacker, signed on the same day as Mikel Arteta, won three FA Cups and captained the side, before later transitioning into a role as the Arsenal academy manager — a role he only recently left his post as.
In his eight years in the role, he left a significant impact behind the scenes and has helped bring through some of the current team’s brightest young talent.
Under his watch at the academy, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman have all progressed into the first team, each playing a role in Arsenal’s first Premier League title in 22 years.
Lewis-Skelly has particularly spoken warmly about how Mertesacker helped shape his development.
He has had a huge impact on the first team too. It was he who directly recommended the signing of William Saliba to Josh Kroenke in 2019.
With Saliba at the heart of it, Arsenal have built one of the very best defences in Europe, and have been competing at the top end of the table since his emergence.
Mertesacker leaves Arsenal after 15 years of service in total.
The 8-2 defeat that prompted Wenger to make that unexpected phone call all those years ago turned out to be the beginning of a relationship that gave Arsenal far more than anyone could have anticipated.
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