For the first time in his Arsenal career, Per Mertesacker made a bad error which resulted in a goal for Norwich City, but Arsene Wenger was quick to defend his giant German, who signed on deadline day this summer.
Wenger told the press after Saturday’s game:
‘I told Per that when you are in England facing the goal; maybe in many countries you are safe but not here. That’s what he has learned today.’
The 27-year-old centre-back has been playing non-stop since he arrived in north London. The only big game he didn’t play was so far this season was against West Brom – he was given a well deserved rest.
When the German international joined Arsenal the public and media were quick to brand him slow and sluggish, but it’s not fair to judge any player who has played less than three months of football in England, and Wenger agrees:
‘I feel people have been harsh in their judgement. I like Per very much, because he is a very intelligent boy and reads the game very well. He has a calming influence, a commanding influence. Because he is so tall, sometimes if he looks less impressive in one situation, people make a definite negative judgement.’
The two games against Marseille are the two bright spots Mertesacker has had so far in his time at Arsenal. There is a lot of difference between the Bundesliga and the Premier League so any player would need time to adapt.
A foreign defender coming in from another European league and struggling during his initial months in the Premier League is pretty normal. The best example would be Laurent Koscielny, who struggled to find his feet last year but has been very impressive this one.
Wenger went on to comment about this issue:
‘We have seen that with [Laurent] Koscielny, who played at right-back and was exceptional. Last year he would not have delivered this kind of performance because you learn that from fighting in every game. That is why it is so difficult to buy defenders from abroad. Per can do the same.’
Mertesacker would be one of the first names on the team sheet when Wenger sits down to decide his starting eleven against Dortmund tomorrow. He had faced Dortmund on so many occasions during his time at Werder Bremen and would be vital to our defence in this game. Per was recently part of the defence which shut out the Netherlands during their friendly last week and Wenger was quick to highlight his performance in that game:
‘He grows stronger in every game and we watched him again in Germany against Holland in midweek, and he had an outstanding performance. I am really happy with him.’
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i dont feel mertesacker will be a big success in the prem league, he is better suited to the champs league style of football. ITS more like a chess-match…often slower in the build up and strikers generally in foreign teams are less physical and aggressive. Koscienly was/is a different player in that he is aggressive in challenges, for him the adaptation to the premier league was easier.
Mertesacker needs better studs on his boots, he seems to have trouble keeping his feet on the park.