01-09-2011, 08:05 PM
Per Mertesacker says signing for Arsenal realises a boyhood dream
Per Mertesacker has said that he is delighted to have joined Arsenal despite watching his new team lose 8-2 to Manchester United at the weekend.
The German defender has supported the north London side since he was a teenager, and found it hard to stomach the defeat against United. "I watched that game and I wasn't too delighted," Mertesacker said from the Germany national side's training camp in Dusseldorf. "When I was young and visited England with my auntie, as somebody who was football crazy, I simply had to come back with a shirt.
"I can't remember why, but I came back with an Arsenal shirt and my brother had a Manchester United one. This affinity has grown over more than 10 years and now the loop closes because I am delighted to finally get to play at a team I always supported and where I always wanted to appear eventually."
Mertesacker continued: "I think Arsenal had been watching me for a while and had intended to sign me for a while. It was a strange situation for me because it was not clear for a long time what would happen and it dragged out to the very end. After the medical in London [on Tuesday], it took until late on deadline day and I was unsure it would work out, but then I was delighted in the end. It is a dream come true."
Arsenal also added to their defensive cohort by signing Brazil full-back André Santos from Fenerbahce.
Santos told Arsenal Player: "There are great expectations from the supporters and I hope that my way of working, of playing, will win the hearts and minds of the other players, the supporters and all those who work for Arsenal. This is my main goal at the club – I managed to win over the supporters at Fenerbahce and I hope the same will happen here."
Santos added: "I arrive here with one aim – being a champion. I will wear Arsenal's shirt and give my utmost to it. I will do everything for the club."
Source: Guardian.co.uk
Per Mertesacker has said that he is delighted to have joined Arsenal despite watching his new team lose 8-2 to Manchester United at the weekend.
The German defender has supported the north London side since he was a teenager, and found it hard to stomach the defeat against United. "I watched that game and I wasn't too delighted," Mertesacker said from the Germany national side's training camp in Dusseldorf. "When I was young and visited England with my auntie, as somebody who was football crazy, I simply had to come back with a shirt.
"I can't remember why, but I came back with an Arsenal shirt and my brother had a Manchester United one. This affinity has grown over more than 10 years and now the loop closes because I am delighted to finally get to play at a team I always supported and where I always wanted to appear eventually."
Mertesacker continued: "I think Arsenal had been watching me for a while and had intended to sign me for a while. It was a strange situation for me because it was not clear for a long time what would happen and it dragged out to the very end. After the medical in London [on Tuesday], it took until late on deadline day and I was unsure it would work out, but then I was delighted in the end. It is a dream come true."
Arsenal also added to their defensive cohort by signing Brazil full-back André Santos from Fenerbahce.
Santos told Arsenal Player: "There are great expectations from the supporters and I hope that my way of working, of playing, will win the hearts and minds of the other players, the supporters and all those who work for Arsenal. This is my main goal at the club – I managed to win over the supporters at Fenerbahce and I hope the same will happen here."
Santos added: "I arrive here with one aim – being a champion. I will wear Arsenal's shirt and give my utmost to it. I will do everything for the club."
Source: Guardian.co.uk