Per Mertesacker has praised his Arsenal teammates for finally having a ‘proper argument’. He credits the change for our excellent form, which now includes a run of seven consecutive Premier League victories.
The German defender believes that his fellow players used to be soft on each other after a bad result, while reasoning that it’s only by changing their approach off the pitch that they’ve been able to improve on it.
Yesterday’s hugely impressive 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Emirates has seen us move above Manchester City into second place in the table, establishing us as the only realistic rivals to Chelsea’s probable title procession.
Mertesacker has played an important role in our steadily improving defensive displays, ensuring that we’ve conceded just five goals in those last seven top flight fixtures.
As a result, January signing Gabriel Paulista has been restricted to a bit-part role since his arrival from Spain.
Speaking with , our giant German revealed his belief that a little bit of added ferocity and some home truths have definitely done the trick. He said: “We tried to think what went wrong for us last season, especially when we got beaten heavily by those big teams.”
“It’s always a big discussion. I mean, we are responsible for our performances. No one wants to have such a miserable day again.
“You need that arguing culture. We lost that at times. It gets personal, and someone gets upset too quickly, but you have to face the truth and have a proper argument. That was normal 10 years ago and it has slightly changed.
“We lost that a bit, what is the intention of argument. It’s really important, not only in general, but in a footballer’s life. It has to get louder sometimes. We need to discuss, to find solutions, to get everyone in one direction.”
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