Per Mertesacker: Top teams see Arsenal as a serious threat now

Defender Per Mertesacker believes that Arsenal are finally beginning to realise their potential this season

Per Mertesacker joined Arsenal from Werder Bremen in 2011Photo: Steindy/Wikimedia

Per Mertesacker believes that Arsenal are finally beginning to realise their potential this season after a flying start to the new campaign.

Much has been made of the Gunners’ failure to win a major trophy in recent years, with their last triumph coming in the FA Cup back in 2005.

The north Londoners have made an impressive start to the new season and are currently two points clear at the top of the Premier League table, despite slipping to a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United last weekend.


And centre-half Mertesacker feels that Arsène Wenger’s men have been growing in confidence after their 2-0 win at Bayern Munich in the Champions League back in March.
“You know how it is with confidence in football, sometimes you just need a moment,” Mertesacker told Arsenal’s website.

“Everyone speaks about the potential in the Arsenal squad, but you don’t want to just speak about it, you want to believe it.
“When we played Bayern Munich away – the current European champions – after that game everyone realised that we can beat anybody in the world. That was a key point from our own point of view.

“We understood we could show our potential on the pitch, and consistently as well, because that’s what we lacked.
“In the past we had good potential, we played some good games, but we dropped points at very important stages.

“People recognised Arsenal as a good team, but not a serious danger for the top teams. That changed a bit at the end of last season and we have kept it going this season.”