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.”
No comments:
Post a Comment