"Mertesacker will be a big success" - Wenger

Per Mertesacker has been “harshly” treated since his arrival at Arsenal.

That is the view of Arsene Wenger who will put his giant German centre-half up against Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates on Wednesday.

Mertesacker dropped a clanger at Carrow Road on Saturday as he failed to clear the ball which allowed Steve Morison to put Norwich in front.

Wenger dished out a half time rollicking to the 6ft 7in Mertesacker, but insists he will stick with him against Dortmund despite his difficult adaptation to English football.

The 27-year-old, who has won 79 caps, may feel more at home against German opposition, but he clearly has the full backing of his manager regardless.

Wenger, who signed Mertesacker for £10million just before the transfer window shut in August, said: “I am very happy with Per.

“The criticism in the papers has been very harsh, but when you play for a big team, you have to accept that.

"I also think it will take him some time. He came here not completely fit. Now he is getting stronger and stronger.

"I felt on Saturday he had not recovered from the Holland game [in midweek] and looked tired. But he has recovered now and will play against Dortmund.

“Of course he is under pressure and scrutiny. But you don’t feel sorry for a situation like that because that’s what happens at a big club.”

Wenger even believes that Mertesacker may struggle to persuade some fans of his quality because they have already made up their minds because of his size.

The Arsenal manager, who is 6ft 4in, used to have a rule that he would not sign a player who was taller than him, but broke that rule to buy Mertesacker from Werder Bremen.

Mertesacker has faced questions about his pace and certainly does not look the most elegant of centre-halves, and Wenger wants him to learn not to get caught out as he did at Carrow Road.

“In England, when you’re in front of the striker you have not won the battle," said the Frenchman. "In many countries you have. But they (strikers) fight till the last second here.

“People look at his size. At the moment you say our defenders are too tall, because you’re not used to it. Because of his size I think people have a preconception of him.

“But he is intelligent and he will adapt quickly. He is very responsible as well, he didn’t complain about the free-kick because he was pulled down. He just said he should have cleared it earlier. So he is very responsible.”

Mertesacker started at the weekend, but faces a fight for his place because Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen are doing their best to establish themselves as the first choice pair.

They also have a bit more pace and agility, which will come in handy when dealing with smaller opponents such as Dortmund’s Mario Gotze.

Arsenal were held at the Westfalen Stadion in September when a last-gasp equaliser robbed Robin van Persie of match-winner honours.

But in many ways that was a game, away and against a big European side, which helped breed confidence in Wenger’s squad after their awful start to the season.

Now Arsenal need a victory to secure automatic qualification to the Champions League's knockout stages.

After being held 0-0 by Marseille in their last group game at the Emirates, Wenger admits they will treat the match as a cup tie.

He will field his strongest line-up, not rest any of his big guns and go all out for victory.

That will also allow him to stand a few players down for the long trip to Athens for the group finale against Olympiacos next month - a fixture already surrounded by fears of a public-services strike that could mean their trip is extended to two nights.

Wenger said of the Dortmund match: “It is a cup tie, because we have an opportunity in one game to qualify.

“We have come from far. You could see the game at Chelsea has helped the team to improve. Our consistency has helped the team improve.

"Qualifying from the Champions League group will give us a lift again.

“Consistency for us is vital. We have a good record at home in the Champions League and we want to continue that.

“Both teams have improved since we last played. We have grown, they have grown. They had a difficult start, we had a difficult start and we have both picked up since.

“They were a good team already in Dortmund, but we feel strong enough to finish the job.

“I think we have done very well defensively. We got two clean sheets in the last two games against Marseille, which is a fantastic achievement because they are a quality side.

“That gives us a lot of confidence going into the game against Dortmund.”

Dortmund tell Arsenal : Hands off Gotze

Arsenal fans will get their first glimpse of German wunderkind Mario Gotze - but Borussia Dortmund have warned they shouldn't get used to him.

The 19-year-old is at the top of Arsene Wenger's wish-list, while Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also in the hunt for the forward.

German international Gotze impressed in the clubs' first meeting of the Champions League group phase in September, and the £30m-rated teenager will now get his chance to shine at the Emirates as the clubs clash again.

But Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp insisted that Gotze will not be affected by the transfer tug-of-war - and confirmed he does not want to sell him in January.

"Nothing can happen in January. It's not a problem. Arsenal is only about 10 per cent of what is written in Germany, so it's not a problem," said Klopp.

"Apparently, Bayern Munich are interested in him. He scored one against Bayern Munich and I will be happy if he wins against Arsenal.

"Nobody buys a player from Borussia Dortmund just like that. Not even Arsenal.

"Luckily, his focus is not an issue. He's very relaxed about that."

Gotze was outstanding in Dortmund's away win over Bayern at the weekend and has promised that his team will go for all-out attack at the Emirates.

Arsenal need to win the match to secure qualification to the knock-out stage, but Gotze and Klopp have admitted it's also win or bust for Dortmund.

"This match comes at a good time for us after the win in Munich. We need to win and that's our objective," said Gotze.

"I've heard the rumours from the Premier League, but I never let that affect me. I'm only focused on Dortmund, now more than ever.

"We won't play a conservative system, that would be a mistake. We want to win and to do that we need to play an offensive game."

Klopp, meanwhile, added that it would be "fatal" for his side just to concentrate on Arsenal's in-form Dutch striker Robin van Persie.

"We won't have four men on Robin," he said. "The easiest way is that he doesn't get good balls and we have measures for that.

"It would be fatal to focus only on Van Persie. We have to take care of Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey - you get punished if you let them go. Song too.

"We have to focus on what we do - that will mean Arsenal cannot play their game. That is how we would like it."

Cesc: England need Wilshere for Euro 2012 success

Cesc Fabregas has taken a swipe at ­Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood – and claimed England desperately need his pal Jack Wilshere back for the Euros.

Hill-Wood claimed Fabregas would struggle to get into the Barcelona first team but he has proved him wrong by becoming a regular at the Nou Camp.

The former Arsenal captain was also damning about England’s negative tactics and said they will rely heavily on Wilshere returning to fitness to stand a chance next summer.

Fabregas, 24, also claimed he wants another ex-team-mate, Robin van Persie, to stay at Arsenal because he’s desperate to see his old club do well.

“Some people thought I wouldn’t get in the team [at Barca],” said Fabregas. “Maybe they didn’t believe in me too much. I speak to the boys at Arsenal.

“Arsenal gave me everything and I will never forget that. It will always be a special club. The fans have always been amazing to me. I only have amazing words to say about them.

“It was a shame they started so badly but now they are back to winning ways and doing well.”

Fabregas also believes next summer will bring the biggest decision of van Persie’s career and, while he says the Dutch striker is world class, he believes he could stay at the Emirates.

“He is having an amazing season. Hopefully he’ll be fit for the whole season. Unfortunately when I was there, he never enjoyed a whole season and it was one of the things I regret a little bit,” said Fabregas.

“He is a key player. I hope he can keep going like that. I don’t know if they will keep him. It is his decision.

“At his age, if he wants to move it will be his last chance and if he wants to stay he will stay and retire at Arsenal. We will see what he decides but he’s been very loyal to Arsenal for a few years.

“He is a key player, the fans love him. For me, he is the role model of Arsenal, the star player and they cannot afford to lose him. He would fit in anywhere but I’m an Arsenal fan and I want him to stay at Arsenal.”

Fabregas is a huge fan of Wilshere and believes the Arsenal youngster will make all the difference for England when he returns from injury.

He believes the absence of Wilshere and Wayne Rooney was the reason England sat so deep against Spain and ended up frustrating the world champions.

“Normally England don’t play like that when Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere are available,” said Fabregas. “But unfortunately they were without a few players and maybe it was an obligation to play like that.

“Overall, England are a very solid team and if they have Jack back it will make a massive difference. He has the talent to make things happen.

“We saw two very different styles of teams. One defensive and one trying to play football and trying to score goals.

“In the end the one trying to score goals didn’t and the one not trying did. So it was a very weird game.

“We are getting used to this kind of game but that’s not an excuse. We knew the only way they could score was from a set-piece and we conceded a bad free-kick and they scored.

“You cannot say it doesn’t matter. Spain are the world and European champions and we always want to win but we definitely prefer to lose this than in an important game.

“We lost friendly games to Argentina, Portugal and Italy and still won the World Cup.”

Fabregas praised Scott Parker’s performance but was disparaging about Fabio Capello’s approach to the friendly and added: “It’s difficult to say who played well for England. They were defending the whole game.

“Scott Parker runs a lot and has very good discipline. With the ball he was quite good when he was involved.

“But they had 10 men behind the ball and that makes it much more solid and compact. We will see more when they play offensive football.”

Squillaci targeted for loan move

West Ham have had a move to sign Arsenal misfit Sebastien Squillaci on loan knocked back.

The Gunners are ready to listen to offers for the 31-year-old French defender, but it is left loaning him out now could jeopardise a permanent move to another club in January.

Squillaci has already appeared for Arsenal in the Carling Cup this season, and players can only turn out for three clubs in a single campaign with special dispensation - which is usually only granted for young players or those involved in contract disputes.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce, who signed Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia on loan earlier this season, is after emergency cover in defence as Hammers pursue an instant return to the Premier League.

A permanent deal for Squillaci with the east London side is thought to be unlikely.

Barca target Alex Song

Alex Song is a target for ­Barcelona.

The 24 year old Arsenal midfield player is seen as the ideal replacement for Mali international Seydou Keita who plans to quit the Camp Nou next June.

Song has impressed ­Gunners’ manager Arsene Wenger this season and ­Arsenal have already made one attempt to secure the Cameroon international on a longer deal.

There are still more than three years to run on his current contract but Wenger views Song as a major asset as his versatility has seen him play him in both ­central defence and midfield.

Arsenal’s initial offer was rejected, but Wenger is determined and is certain to come back in an attempt to keep Song for another four years at least.

If Song refuses the offer Barcelona are ready to swoop next summer.

They are ready to pay more than £15million and manager Pep Guardiola will first talk to former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.

Fabregas, "who moved to Barcelona from Arsenal for £35m in the summer, rates his ex-team-mate highly so that will tempt Guardiola."

Song is reluctant to uproot his family from London, but might well be tempted by the once-in-a-lifetime chance to play for the team currently rated the best in world football.