Arsenal star Per Mertesacker believes returning players can help fire the club to a top-four finish and FA Cup glory.
The Gunners have been without; Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil, Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott for portions of the season, and apart from Walcott, the rest of the injured stars are individually returning to the first-team set-up.
Mertesacker’s partner, Koscielny, has missed a few weeks of action due to injury, but he has recently returned back into the first-team, and the weekend’s win over Hull City saw the long-awaited return of Ramsey and Ozil.
Speaking in an interview, Mertesacker admitted that stars returning at the right time will help the club finish in the top-four and also win their first trophy in nine years.
“We need these moments where you can see we’ve got great players and some great finishers with Lukas Podolski on the scoresheet and Aaron Ramsey back on track, Mesut back on track,” Mertesacker told the club’s official website. “All these players could make a difference.
“When you have your whole squad together for as long as possible, that can make a difference. We suffered a bit in the second part of the season but now everyone is… coming back to full fitness. We’ve had some long-term injuries and it’s good to have them all back.”
Mertesacker added: “We have the potential to be a very promising side in terms of title races, but if you can’t keep your leading players fit all the time it makes it a lot more difficult.
“We are determined to keep fourth position.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
