Mertesacker: Since He Arrived In 2011, Arteta’s Wanted Arsenal Back Where They Belong

Mertesacker speaks on Arteta’s mission…

Former Arsenal skipper Per Mertesacker has heaped praise on his long-time colleague Mikel Arteta and revealed his decade-long ambition of returning the club back to the pinnacle of English football, he told the Cognitive Champions Podcast.

Mertesacker and Arteta arrived on the same day as players during the infamous ‘trolley dash’ in the summer of 2011, with Arsene Wenger signing five players on the final day of the transfer window.

Having both captained the club, the two now hold important senior roles as manager of the first team and manager of the academy, respectively.

Speaking ahead of Arteta’s 200th game as Arsenal boss, Mertesacker reveals the Spaniard’s vision for the club began long before he was handed the reins in 2019.

“I looked at his reassurance and taking responsibility from day one,” Mertesacker said asked about his first impressions of Arteta in 2011.

“For whatever the team delivered, he felt responsible. And then you get a sense for…he means it, he gives everything for it. I could grow alongside him, because he was very experienced in terms of the English game.

“You could make that link, him seeing what was going on, he wants to bring Arsenal to where it belongs – winning titles. That’s his focus and I could see that responsibility from day one. When we met in the hotel together and he took me (to training) because I couldn’t drive on the wrong side of the road.”

Arteta is closer than ever to realising that dream and bringing fans their first Premier League title in 20 years with the team now built to last the distance.

We came close last year, but you always got the sense throughout the campaign that the squad was pushing way beyond its limits just to last the pace with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Now, with added experience and physicality to the side, we trail the champions by just a point with many onlookers feeling we’re still operating in third gear. That’s the kind of pace that lasts the marathon.