He is still the Arsenal club captain and as far as we know the former Germany international Per Mertesacker has recovered fully from his injury and is fit enough to play, although the tall centre back was not included on the subs bench for Arsenal’s draw with Man City at the weekend.
That could have been a tactical move by Arsene Wenger though, especially as the lack of pace our BFG has could have been a big problem against the pace and fancy footwork of the City forwards like Sane, Sterling, Silva and Aguero, while his height advantage would not have been too much of a balance.
Against West Ham, however, and the likes of Andy Carroll the abilities of Mertesacker could come in very useful for Arsenal and after our number one centre back Laurent Koscielny picked up an injury to his Achilles that will rule him out for Wednesday at least, perhaps the German could be the answer alongside his countryman Mustafi.
The lack of play our BFG has had might be a concern, as Per has not featured at all for the Gunners this season, but he is vastly experienced and to be perfectly honest we could do with a few more leaders out there on the pitch. What do you think Gooners?
Bob.
No point having a leader barking orders (which he doesn’t really do anyway) when he isn’t up to the required standard himself.
It surely is a dark hour when your looking at BFG as a saviour!;)
“4th Place is a trophy”
– Arsene Wenger, April 2017
Is winning the title even an option for this guy? Clearly not.
Oh and BFG is useless against the likes of Carroll since his vertical leap is worse than a 10-year old volleyball player’s.
I’d prefer to give Holding a shout or stick with Gabriel. Renewing Mertesackers contract and committing the club to another 70 grand for a year is yet another inexplicable gesture by a madman. But he can do what he likes without interference. Mr.Chips is chairman but he doesn’t like to spoil things by talking.
OT:
“I am not scared. I accept the judgement of people and focus on the game. That’s it.
“What is important is a good football team on the pitch playing good football. The rest is just literature. What is important is playing with the right spirit, the right attitude.” Wenger
So in other words his giving us all a middle finger, he does not really care what we think or do. Wenger and his board are trying to act as though Arsenal can exist without us the fans, the customer is the most important person in a business and in this case its us.
This old man makes me sick sometimes. Lets keep the momentum with the protests both physically and online, someone will get the message one way or another. Hell I even feel like carrying a Wenger out banner to work incase something extraordinary happens and the press comes around like the guys at Wrestlemenia and other sightings.
If you look at most goals we conceded this season come through corner kicks and set pieces. Koscielny to me is not at his best this season. The fact needs to be told. Mustafi works harder than him, only that Mustafi is prone to making mistakes. We hardly concede on corners kicks when Matersacker plays. Forget that he is slow, but that’s how Germany keep playing him. He should come back now if he’s fit cos non of our defenders can clear the ball in the air.
Holding first option.
Then Mertesacker.
Then Gabriel – who worries me at CB. But played well as RB when needed
Yes, bring in Per for Wednesday. We haven’t been composed at the back in a long time, and Bellerin clearly misses his experience and presence next to him. Also, he’s our captain. If you’re captain of Arsenal and fit, you should be playing and playing well. If not, go join Tottenham, where seasons like ours this year have been a regular thing for years.
However, Wenger will start Gabriel as he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.