Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that defender Per Mertesacker is a fantastic leader on and off the pitch.
The German international has been standing in as club captain due to injuries to usual captain Thomas Vermaelen and vice-captain Mikel Arteta.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Wenger admitted that Mertesacker is a great leader for the rest of the team and he believes the team are playing better due to his leadership traits.
“Per is a fantastic leader who always keeps the urgency of the team very high,” the manager told Arsenal Player. “He’s a good organiser. He’s growing in stature and I think his individual performance as well was outstanding.
“I believe we had a convincing win because we had real good team play and we looked like a team who knows what they are doing. We were always in control, got [a 2-0 lead] at half-time and got a goal after that. The last 20 are always a bit difficult but we could have scored more.”
