Arsenal had a very good 2014/2015 season as they finished third in the league and won a second FA Cup in a row. At the heart of the Arsenal team was vice captain Per Mertesacker.
Per Mertesacker joined Arsenal in 2011 and, when he arrived, fans did not rate the German international defender as many slated him for being too slow and how much time it took for him to adapt to Premier League football. However, as each season has passed. the Arsenal fans have warmed to the big defender and this proved true early on in the season as Per Mertesacker had a very bad start to the season.
In the 2014-2015 season Arsene Wenger made Mertesacker the vice captain following the departure of Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona, this meant that the German had big shoes to fill and he has looked to have filled them, playing in all but three games for Arsenal in the season. To play 35 out of the 38 league games is a testament to the quality, and the stamina, that Mertesacker possesses at the age of 30.
At 6"6, Mertesacker commands his penalty box and is also a sound defender on the ground, with his size and strength he can easily shrug players off the ball. While he is not the quickest defender in the Premier League, he is certainly one the most tactically aware as his positional play and anticipation are second to none. To further remedy his lack of pace, he has formed a good central defensive partnership with Laurent Koscielny at the heart of the Arsenal defence. Mertesacker has also done well to keep Gabriel out of the team as, when Gabriel has came in, he has looked like a decent player.
With Mertesacker at the heart of the Arsenal defence they have a very good organiser and, throughout the season, this was clearly evident as the big German was seen organising the Arsenal defence to deal with set pieces. In Mertesacker Arsenal also have a very neat distributor of the ball. The Arsenal captain was averaging almost 50 passes a game with an astonishing success rate of 90.2%, and this fits in nicely with the way Arsenal have been playing all season long.
Per Mertesacker scored two goals in the 2014/2015 season and both came in the FA Cup, in the third round against Hull City in a convincing 2-0 win for the holders, while the other goal came in the FA Cup final against Aston Villa. What was common to both of these goals is that each of these were created from an Arsenal set piece. Mertesacker’s presence can always cause problems from set pieces.
Mertesacker is seen as one of the cleaner players in the Arsenal squad and this season, he only picked up two bookings throughout the season which shows us that his tactical awareness has been one of the key elements of his game.
One of the areas that many Arsenal fans feel that needs strengthening is the Arsenal defence. This could mean the end of the road for Per Mertesacker, as many feel he is the weak link in the Gunners' defence as Arsenal try to get a team together that can challenge for the league title. With the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia being linked with Arsenal, it does signal a change in the tactics.
Despite all the bad press that Mertesacker has gotten since joining Arsenal, he has been one of the more improved Arsenal players over the last three seasons and he has led the team very well this season as vice captain, with Arteta on the sidelines through injury. The World Cup winner has become one of the leaders in the Arsenal dressing room, something the Arsenal team has not had in a long time and it is due to this fact that Per Mertesacker is deserving of a place in the Arsenal Team of the Year.