Per Mertesacker will leave Arsenal this summer as a fantastic servant to the club.
The German first won trophies as a player and captain before moving into an important role behind the scenes after retirement.
Since hanging up his boots, he has helped oversee the academy and played a key role in developing some of the Gunners’ brightest young talents.
A lot of attention has rightly gone towards what Mertesacker has done at Hale End. However, his greatest contribution to Arsenal may actually involve the first team.
Who should become Arsenal’s next academy director after Per Mertesacker’s departure?
Arsenal need to get this appointment right!
Per Mertesacker’s gift of the century to Arsenal is William Saliba
Every great team needs a world-class centre-back.
Arsenal learned that the hard way for years as they searched for the defensive leader capable of taking them back to the top of English football.
Back in 2019, the Gunners were looking for exactly that type of player.
At the time, Virgil van Dijk was establishing himself as the best defender in the world and transforming Liverpool into title contenders.
Josh Kroenke wanted Arsenal to find their own version of the Dutchman. So, after the Europa League final defeat to Chelsea in Baku, he asked Per Mertesacker a simple question.
Recalling the conversation, Kroenke said, as per The Sun: “I had a great conversation with Per Mertesacker after that final in Baku. I made a comment about Virgil van Dijk, who had arrived at Liverpool a year or two before. I said: ‘How do we get one of these guys into our system?’
“Per replied: ‘Well, unless you’ve got £100 million, you better not be thinking about him.’
“I said: ‘Well, who’s the best young defender in Europe?’
“Per turned without hesitation and said: ‘William Saliba’.”
That recommendation may have changed Arsenal’s history.
The Gunners signed Saliba for around £27 million just a few months later. Today, he would cost well in excess of £100 million and is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in world football.
START, BENCH, SELL: Tony Adams, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes…
PICK IN THE COMMENTS!!!
William Saliba changed Arsenal’s fortunes
It is no coincidence that Arsenal’s rise has mirrored Saliba’s emergence.
Before he broke into the team, the Gunners were fighting just to get back into the Champions League places.
Since making his Arsenal debut, they have challenged for the Premier League title every single season and have now finally won it.
Saliba has become the foundation of one of the best defences in Europe, and Arsenal simply do not look like the same side without him.
That is why Mertesacker deserves enormous credit.
A lot of people have helped Arsenal become champions again, but very few can claim they played a part as significant as identifying Saliba before anybody else fully realised how special he would become.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
