Deadline day, 2011, and after suffering an 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford, Arsene Wenger went into the transfer market, looking for strength and stability \u2013 what he found would change the course of our history.<\/p>\n
Our former boss plucked 26-year-old Per Mertesacker from Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, along with experienced Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was just amazed by the fact that Arsene Wenger could speak German,\u201d Per recalled. \u201cThat got me in the first place, and that inspired me even more, so I said: \u2018This is the next step on my journey\u2019. I was somewhat an experienced player, and the Premier League was the next big thing for me, and then Arsenal, my boyhood club, since I ever bought a shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n Following deadline day, Per and Mikel would share a pitch 120 times together as they brought trophies to Emirates Stadium for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got off to a good start,\u201d Per said. \u201cWe were both in the same hotel, because we were both coming in on deadline day, same hotel. We would share a car for our first month because he could drive and I couldn’t, so I owe him a lot to this point!<\/p>\n \u201cHe was vice-captain fairly early, then became captain. I was his vice-captain, so that relationship grew with the challenges that we faced. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was never just rosy. There were tough times where we, as a pair, needed to stand up in front of the group and try to find out what was going wrong. He would demand that I be part of this, not only himself as a captain, but also demanded that I step up and take responsibility. He had high standards, which educated me, but also made sure that there was a huge trust.<\/p>\n \u201cHe knows what it takes, and he knows what it also takes to transform from your playing time to being in charge of people and players and trying to get the best out of them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have got huge respect for each other for the work that we’ve done individually, but then, more importantly, collectively.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Read more<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Per\u2019s time on the pitch was coming to an end, he was challenged by Arsene Wenger, who was also in his final season at the helm, to make a difference at the youth level and help take our famed Hale End academy to new heights. It\u2019s safe to say Per found a new level. During his time as academy manager, a total of 24 Hale Enders have gone on to play for Mikel Arteta\u2019s side. <\/p>\n Two of those debutants were Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bukayo Saka, with the pair going on to start our Champions League semi-final victory over Atletico Madrid, as well as playing an integral part in helping us to our first Premier League title in 22 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s very inspiring. To everyone involved who played their part, there is huge pride. But then also the inspiration for the next under-9 team and their parents. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat they see in Bukayo and Myles, how they have grown and developed through the academy, and I’m just proud of the people that we produced, so humble and always ready to get better, no matter what the circumstances are.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the people that we need here. So disciplined and so respectful.\u201d<\/p>\n Saka captained the side and netted the winner on that famous night in N5 against Atleti. Speaking glowingly of our No. 7, he said: \u201cHe knows his responsibility for the club. <\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it’s amazing to see that he still feels, at times, you know, in the canteen, there’s a first-team kind of area, but he always checks in with academy staff, because he knows deep down how many people contributed to his journey. <\/p>\n \u201cHis humility, just to understand and say: \u2018Yeah, I’m somewhere in life now, but there’s a lot to be achieved, a lot to show up every single day and be consistent.’ I’m just proud of his commitment, but also his consistency, and that will not change.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Read more<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Seeing academy product Max Dowman become the Premier League\u2019s youngest-ever scorer and title-winner is a fitting finale for Per\u2019s Hale End heroes.<\/p>\n Per was given a fond farewell by the Arsenal faithful during our 3-0 win at Fulham, something he will hold with him for a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very special and thanks to the club and everyone involved. It\u2019s the end of an era for my family and me, but moving out with your head held high, with people embracing and celebrating you, is very special.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s nice to end this in such a good position where everyone feels positive about it. I think that’s a good sweet spot to hit for me, I’m just happy that I’m leaving everything in a better place, and that was from the start probably my main target. <\/p>\n \u201cIn years to come, are we in a position where we have got something going where we are the envy of a lot of people? I think we’re in this place.\u201d<\/p>\n Press play on the video above to watch the entire final interview with Per right now, featuring tributes from two very special guests!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Per Mertesacker is bringing an illustrious 15-year career at Arsenal to an end when he departs as academy manager. The former centre-back joined us in 2011, going on to win … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Per Mertesacker | In my own words <\/span>
\n <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/article>\nPROTECTED PERSONS<\/h2>\n
Mertesacker on recruitment, Youth Cup & Max Dowman <\/span>
\n <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/article>\nSPECIAL SEND-OFF<\/h2>\n