Arsenal: Raging Per Mertesacker stands all on his own

Per Mertesacker has lambasted Arsenal’s timid performance against Watford. He stands all on his own as a player with heart and desire.

There was a painful lack of quality for Arsenal throughout their 2-1 loss to Watford on Saturday evening. The absence of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez led to blunt and limp play in the final third, missing Aaron Ramsey scuppered the rhythm and routine of the midfield in possession, while injuries to Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny, even though the latter was able to play, made the back three disjointed and confused, lacking their usual cohesion and confidence.

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However, the raft of injuries and loss of form, while frustrating, is forgivable. It is unreasonable to expect any team to play at their best every single game. It simply does not happen. But title-winners are able to win games even when they are not playing their best. That was what Arsenal had to do against Watford. They couldn’t.

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And after the game, when discussing the loss of the lead in the second half, Per Mertesacker admitted that Watford wanted it more, and that he and his teammates were timid in their own commitment to the cause, lacking the necessary heart and desire to fight for the three points:

"“We have to admit at the end that they wanted it more. The second half they were all attack and we were timid. We tried to protect the goal we scored and it was not enough. There was a change of momentum. We had a clear-cut chance [Ozil’s miss] and after that, they scored the equaliser and had momentum on their side. You could sense second half they were more up for that fight that was required, especially away from home.”"

Such comments are damning for the Arsenal players. But they are accurate. The role of Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka in the final goal is the perfect example of the Gunners’ failure to care. After Ozil lost the ball with a loose touch, more concerned with the anticipated contact from a defender on his back, both proceeded to simply stand on the edge of the box, wandering around, either unaware or unmoved of the danger that Watford posed.

It was truly shocking from both. But it is merely a symptom of the culture of nicety and mediocrity that is infecting and affecting everything that the club does. Mertesacker is perhaps the only player that showed any semblance of passion and desire against Watford. He scored the only goal, he battled for every ball, and he threw himself into every challenge, every block, every moment.

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There was no half-hearted effort from the German. He may have lacked quality in his defending at times — a lack of pace and athleticism being the primary shortcomings. But he cannot be faulted for his effort. For that, he stands alone from the rest of the Arsenal squad.