Per Mertesacker: 'Arsenal are more confident'

By Steven Toplis, Reporter | 14 February 2014

Per Mertesacker believes that Arsene Wenger's management following the 8-2 defeat to Manchester United in 2011 has made the team more confident.

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has insisted that manager Arsene Wenger has made the team more confident since their 8-2 defeat to Manchester United in August 2011.

The German defender was signed from Werder Bremen three days after the comprehensive defeat at Old Trafford.

Speaking after the clubs played out a goalless draw on Tuesday, Mertesacker said that Wenger's handling of the situation increased the team's confidence and helped them to improve over the past two years.

"We made a lot of mistakes as a team [against United] - every player," he told talkSPORT. "But we learned quickly, and the manager is the key to that because he trusts the players.

"When we made mistakes – as I did a lot of times – he always said afterwards: 'You are good enough and intelligent enough to know what you did wrong, and now you have to prove to me that you understand.'

"That's what he always said when we had a few setbacks and now, after two and a half years, the squad feels more confident. That is down to the manager, because he stuck with the players and to the things he was doing."

Mertesacker has made 24 Premier League appearances for the Gunners this season.