He may not have quite been at his best after only returning to Arsenal training around a week ago, but Per Mertesacker’s 90 minutes against Everton at Goodison Park could prove to be very important for the Gunners in the season ahead.
Because it means that Arsene Wenger should have no worries about starting the Champions League game on Wednesday with the German giant alongside his main defensive partner Laurent Koscielny. The France international may have picked up a little knock last week, which was why Wenger left him out on Saturday, but he was on the bench and so should be fine to face the Turkish team Besiktas.
And with the scores delicately poised at 0-0, it is really important for Arsenal to be defensively solid. After all, a score draw would see us go out, so having the clean sheet specialists back in the centre of defence is great news for Arsenal.
Also, having that security at the back that BFG and the Boss bring will give the other Arsenal players the perfect platform to do what they do best, create chances, control the game and score goals. Demba Ba is likely to be their main goal threat and the former Chelsea man needs to be carefully marshalled, and who better to do that than Arsenal’s main men?