Arsenal fans were treated to a double blast from the past this weekend as Per Mertesacker played a farewell match in his hometown of Hannover with Arsene Wenger in the dugout for one of the teams.
Former Gunners captain Mertesacker played a half each on Saturday for Merte’s 96 Friends, a team of players with Hannover connections, Per’s World XI, which was ‘managed’ by Wenger.
The game at the HDI-Arena was an absolute goalfest with stars such as Ivan Klasnic, Arne Freidrich, Thomas Hitzlsperger,…
Shaka Hislop explains how Arsenal’s new style under Unai Emery doesn’t suit Petr Cech and why it’s time to see Bernd Leno start for the Gunners.
Former Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker has blamed the players for the “sad” end to Arsene Wenger’s reign as manager.
Wenger left in May after the worst Premier League finish of his 22-year reign, ending in sixth place and missing out on Champions League football for the second season running.
Mertesacker said in an interview with German website Spox the announcement caught the players by surprise, but they must shoulder the blame.
“It was a bit surprising for us. He came into the meeting and…
Arsene Wenger reflects on his time and Arsenal after his final home game and touches on what comes next after 22 years at the club.
Alexis Nunes and Shaka Hislop mull over Arsene Wenger’s future after 22 years at Arsenal and the players’ mindset heading into the final two games.
Arsene Wenger addresses the crowd at the Emirates after a 5-0 win for Arsenal over Burnley in his final home match as manager.
Arsenal put five goals past Burnley’s typically stout defense at the Emirates, making Arsene Wenger’s final home match one to remember.
Arsenal put five goals past Burnley’s typically stout defense at the Emirates, making Arsene Wenger’s final home match one to remember.
Arsenal put five goals past Burnley’s typically stout defense at the Emirates, making Arsene Wenger’s final home match one to remember.
Per Mertesacker thanked Arsene Wenger for giving him “a great ending” to his Arsenal career after he came on as a substitute in his final home game.
Mertesacker was given a standing ovation and a huge roar from the crowd as he entered the pitch in the 77th minute of the 5-0 win over Burnley on Sunday.
He will retire at the end of the season and, like Wenger, was given a send-off by the crowd in his farewell to the Emirates.
“It was a beautiful moment,” Mertesacker told Arsenal’s website. “It is…
Arsene Wenger jokes that the tributes to him after the decision to leave Arsenal feel like witnessing his own funeral.
Per Mertesacker believes Arsene Wenger has the “power” to continue in management after departing the Arsenal job in the summer.
Wenger leaves the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season after announcing on Friday that he will bring down the curtain on a 21-year reign.
It remains to be seen whether the 68-year-old will choose to retire or work elsewhere — although he said last year, when it was unclear if he would remain at Arsenal, that he would want to stay in the game.
Wenger said after Sunday’s…
Jupp Heynckes is confident Manuel Neuer will be back and ready to play for Germany at the 2018 World Cup. Former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus has criticised Per Mertesacker for saying he was glad when the team went out of the 2006 World Cup because of the burden of pressure.
In a wide-ranging interview with Der Spiegel, 33-year-old Mertesacker said he had been “most of all relieved” when tournament hosts Germany lost to Italy.
“I only thought: It’s over. It’s over. Finally, it’s over,” Mertesacker said, admitting that the pressure of matchdays could leave him close to being sick.
But Matthaus told…
While Aaron Ramsey feels Arsenal “turned a little corner” at Milan, former Gunner Paul Mariner explains why they shouldn’t be getting carried away with their 2-0 win. Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up and that he would much prefer not to play this season.
The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal’s new academy manager from the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger’s first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest…
U.S. international Eric Lichaj scored a header and stunning volley to help Nottingham Forest knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup.
Janusz Michallik and Alexis Nunes put a bow on Sunday’s FA Cup fixtures that saw Arsenal’s title defence crash out at the hands of Nottingham Forest.
As Arsenal prepares to face Nottingham Forest, Arsene Wenger believes the third round is often the toughest test in the FA Cup.
Arsenal suffered one of the worst defeats of Arsene Wenger’s reign as an abject 4-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest knocked the holders out of the FA Cup.
Wenger fielded a vastly weakened side for the third-round clash and the manager who has won the competition seven times suffered a big blow to his tenuous authority with the shocking exit to a young Forest side.
Eighteen-year-old Ben Brereton tormented the Arsenal defence and scored the third from the penalty spot after Eric Lichaj had scored…
Arsene Wenger admits Nottingham Forest ‘dominated’ Arsenal as the Gunners crashed out of the FA Cup.
Arsenal’s hopes of defending their FA Cup title came crashing down as Nottingham Forest dealt the Gunners a 4-2 defeat at City Ground.
Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker blasted his teammates after Sunday’s 4-2 FA Cup loss at Nottingham Forest, saying not one of them justified their selection for the game.
Mertesacker himself scored Arsenal’s first goal to level it 1-1 in the first half, but the German struggled badly to cope with the pace of Forest’s teenage striker Ben Brereton throughout the match. And the German, who gave the ball away in the lead-up to Forest’s fourth goal, criticised the entire team after the match.
“The manager…
Despite defeat to Cologne, Arsenal have still managed to top Group H with a game to spare.
Jack Wilshire reflects on Arsenal’s surprise 1-0 loss in Cologne and touches on his future at the club.
Arsenal lost their unbeaten record in Europe thanks to a controversial penalty in a 1-0 defeat away at Cologne, but finished top of their group anyway due to results elsewhere.
Arsenal had already secured their place in the last-32 of the Europa League but still would have been frustrated to see Sehrou Guirassy win a penalty under minimal contact from Mathieu Debuchy and then score himself.
Coming after the North London derby win over Tottenham at the weekend, this display was a…
Arsene Wenger is proud of Arsenal’s performance in the North London Derby and hopes to build off the big win going forward.
First-half goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez led Arsenal over Tottenham in the North London derby.
Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi are thrilled with their derby victory over Tottenham.
ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden analyses the finer points of Arsenal’s win over Spurs, Mesut Ozil’s show-stopping performance and more.
Arsene Wenger has hailed Shkodran Mustafi’s leadership qualities and likened the defender to Per Mertesacker.
Mustafi headed the crucial opener in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Tottenham on Saturday and produced an excellent defensive display to prevent Harry Kane adding to his North London derby tally.
A thigh injury in October kept Mustafi out for six weeks, but Arsenal are yet to concede in the Premier League this season when he has partnered Laurent Koscielny in defence.
Wenger believes Mustafi brings…