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Arsenal: Captain Per Mertesacker Not Another Mikel Arteta
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal has granted Per Mertesacker a one year contract extension, which feels a lot like Mikel Arteta’s situation. Only it absolutely isn’t.
Arsenal has somewhat surprisingly give captain Per Mertesacker a one-year extension to his contract, which will keep the armband firmly planted for at least one more year. The only reason I find this surprising is because of the massive defensive stock that Arsenal currently has.
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With Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny rocking out the first team and Gabriel Paulista and Rob Holding holding down the subs, there is already slim pickings. All are young, talented and athletic.
Then you have to account for Calum Chambers, who has become a force on the best defense no one knows at Middlesbrough. He is coming back this summer and he will be ready to compete for a spot.
And then there is Krystian Bielik, who will be encroaching on first-team action soon.
Where does Mertesacker fit in?
On the pitch, he doesn’t. I reckon he may supplant Rob Holding if the situation permits, but Mertesacker is not being kept for his usefulness on the pitch. He is being kept for his leadership abilities off of it.
Mustafi has sang his countryman’s praises, and we know from numerous other testimonials that he is a big deal in the locker room. There is no doubting that.
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And make no mistake, this isn’t a matter of Mikel Arteta. No matter what Arteta offered off the pitch, he was an absolute blight on the pitch. And I mean that as nicely as I can. he was terrible.
Mertesacker certainly isn’t in the same condition he used to be, but I have full confidence that, in a pinch, the BFG could step in and make himself useful. He wouldn’t be Mustafi or Koscielny but the man is absolutely of a higher quality than Arteta was in his latter years.
Plus, Arteta did that really cool thing and completely uprooted himself from Arsenal at the chance to coach with Pep Guardiola. It was a vile thing and it made a lot of us recant that we were ever nice to him in the first place.
At least I did.
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Again, maybe I’m being naive, but I don’t see Mertesacker doing that. This is a man of good character who is respected all across the club. He is a Gunner and I actually have zero problem with them latching onto him for another year.