Per Mertesacker believes Unai Emery’s Arsenal must ‘learn’ to be ‘ruthless’ like Chelsea have been in recent years. Since opening the new season with back-to-back defeats, the Gunners have won nine consecutive matches to climb to fourth in the Premier League.
Emery, who replaced legendary manager Arsene Wenger at the Emirates in the summer, has made a bright start to his career in north London.
But Mertesacker says Arsenal can still ‘learn’ from ‘ruthless’ Chelsea, who have won five Premier League titles in the last 13 years.
Speaking about Petr Cech’s spell at Stamford Bridge before joining Arsenal, Mertesacker said: ‘His background at Chelsea, that is the way he won. ‘You can feel when we went there it was always tough and we struggled to deal with the intensity and that defensive ruthlessness.
‘We can take that on. We have to learn and adapt to what Chelsea have brought.’ Mertesacker made over 200 competitive appearances for Arsenal before hanging up his boots at the end of last season. The 34-year-old became Arsenal’s academy manager in the summer and admits he hopes to help more young English players break into the first-team at the Emirates.
The former Germany defender added to BBC Sport: ‘We are finding the talent, but how can we make them cope with the league and cope with all of the money and madness that comes in?
‘We have to get rid of the feeling that we have everything in England and we don’t need to assess other countries. ‘It is just wrong. Sometimes we can send them away from home, and away from their comfort zone. ‘I am now responsible for giving them the right ingredients so they can cope with that and can cope with going away.’