Mertesacker hoping Arsenal internationals will lead to silverware

Per Mertesacker turned 29 a couple of weeks ago,
and the Arsenal defender is understandably
impatient to add more silverware to his personal
trophy cabinet. Playing for one of the best and
biggest clubs in the world, as well as one the most
successful nations in football, the German
international has every reason to expect some.
So far, Mertesacker has only got two winners medals,
and they were German cup wins with Werder
Bremen. He wants more, and both Arsenal and
Germany are in great form at the minute. There are
similarities, both in the way the teams play, and the
fact that no less than three players play for both,
with Podolski and Ozil having joined their lanky
compatriot. The centre back has been speaking to
the Guardian about his situation for club and country,
and both teams, in his opinion, have got to be
tougher mentally to achieve the success that has
eluded them recently, and Arsenal at least are
starting to show that.
He said, "Our game hasn't changed. It's more that he
(Ozil) fits into it. His progress is quite well at the
moment and I think he will show more and more
during the season. You can expect a lot from him.
"We have a few blocs. We have a French bloc, a
Spanish bloc, a British bloc and a German bloc, so we
are international influenced and that is what Arsenal
is all about. It's now about sticking together as good
as possible and as much as possible. Arsenal wants
to play international football and, when every player
fits into that game, we can be successful.
"It's hard to say what's different, but I think one
point is that we didn't lose any player from last
season. It was always a bit hard when we lost van
Persie and Alex Song last season, and the year before
we lost Nasri and Fabregas. We kept the squad (this
year) and there is more quality to come. We have a
few injured players who we hope are coming back
soon."
Mertesacker is feeling good about things at the
minute, but he has come close before, including the
Euro final and a World Cup semi-final. So with the
end of his career approaching, he is in no mood to
slacken off or lose focus, and he is a good character
to have spurring on the other players in the dressing
room. I certainly wouldn't argue with him.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.