Amazingly, for a player with over 100 appearances for the German national team, who also possesses the Arsenal vice-captaincy – and in Mikel Arteta’s increasingly often absence, the captaincy on the pitch – Per Mertesacker is a player who still divides opinion. He has had a long and successful career, has made himself a key component of the defence in each side he has played for, has proved himself time and again, but still some have doubts over his ability.
This is largely due to the increasing influence of FIFA (the video game) and the perceptions of football fans on the game. Pace is increasingly seen as one of, if not the, most crucial elements when it comes to a footballer, and if a player is slow then some fans often simply refuse to believe they could actually be any good. It feels like many fans’ perceptions of Mertesacker, and criticisms of him, are based on this. He was outrun by Sergio Aguero that time when you were playing FIFA, or you couldn’t make his computer generated twin sprint to the other end of the pitch like you could with Thomas Vermaelen (a vastly inferior defender in reality), so your perception of him in reality is distorted. Even those who do not play the game appear to be increasingly edging towards this mindset, largely due to the proliferation of social media, meaning the widespread of the “Mertesacker is slow, so he is bad” message becomes well known.
This lack of independent thought, and apparent inability to actually watch the player and see what he does for the team rather than simply focussing on how fast he can run, saddens many. It is partially to blame for the idiotic suggestion that Mesut Ozil is a flop because, essentially, he is not the same player as Alexis Sanchez. It is largely also the reason why Mertesacker is perceived as a weak link in the Arsenal defence – and in the team as a whole – by so many. The fact that there is, in my experience at least, an overlap between those who believe Ozil is a flop and those who believe Mertesacker is a liability is no coincidence.
When we look beyond simply sprint speed, Mertesacker is obviously a very good centre back. His positioning is superb, his reading of the game fantastic, his ability to organise the back line remains absolutely crucial. It is noticeable that when the big German is removed from the lineup, the defence immediately becomes a whole lot more disorganised, holes appear constantly and life is made a huge amount easier for the opposition. One of the most important factors in defending well is organisation and discipline, something that really should be easy enough but is so often not achieved – and I mean that in general, across football as a whole. Mertesacker brings those crucial factors to the back line, ensuring that the defence does not go walkabout.
He is also one of the few players in the Arsenal squad who can truly be described as a leader. When asked in the match-day programme for the game against West Ham which player in the squad would make the best Prime Minister, Francis Coquelin named Mertesacker. We can see on the pitch that Mertesacker is instructing the others – but in a far more useful way than Mathieu Flamini’s ‘point, shout and hope’. Despite Arteta having the captaincy, Mertesacker is the one who collects the players’ fines for any misdemeanours. When, following a poor defeat to Manchester City, Ozil forgot to acknowledge the fans after the full-time whistle, Mertesacker was the one to go over and give him a very public telling-off in the middle of the pitch. He is clearly trusted both by the management and the players, and feels able to assert his seniority over his team-mates – even one as important as Ozil – when he feels it necessary.
Rather than being a liability, Mertesacker is one of the most important players in this Arsenal squad, both on and off the pitch. With Arteta’s constant injury problems and demotion behind Francis Coquelin in the midfield pecking order, Mertesacker is now essentially Arsenal’s on-pitch captain, and deserves that honour. It is sad that there are sections of the fan-base who still do not value him, but it is also simply another example of the changing ways in which supporters value and rate players. Thankfully, those who make the decisions at the club have not, for the moment at least, let these changes impact upon their judgement. Long may that continue.
