Quotes from Per Mertesacker

Obviously, everyone looks at whether we bring young footballers into the first team, that's one of the goals. But I wouldn't discard someone who is successful in life, that's big. The hall of fame in the academy should be a wide variety of stories.

There's always that mental battle, who's going to have that confidence to be on the front foot.

As long as you are winning it is a good day.

It is not only the skilful players who can make the difference in a game. It is as well players who just try to stick to their qualities and give absolutely everything.

There are not a lot of German players out there who are successful in a foreign country.

Living in London is very different to living in a little town in Germany.

For a national player it is a good thing to get experience playing abroad.

I was fortunate to play under Thomas Schaaf at Bremen. And I played for Arsene Wenger. So I always felt, let's say, more responsible than others towards the manager and his succession.

Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally. That it's not about fun, but you have to deliver without a doubt. Even if you are injured.

We have all the money in the world but do not realise how important the body is. A player on average has a seven year professional career, 10-15 if everything goes right. You have to do everything possible to be at your maximum.

I had a great time at SV Werder Bremen and I'm grateful to the club.

When people are acutely depressed, many of them seem to want to hide.

Wenger has won three Premier League titles, which is proof enough of his standing as a manager.

My father said, 'You're not going to make it.' That took a lot of pressure from me. I took football like a hobby.

My home town called me a citizen of honour. So I'm a special citizen now.

Sometimes you need a humbling experience to think about a few things.

In certain situations, players should protect themselves by not losing track of the most important things in their job.

I've played for 15 years and played in five major tournaments. I know what it gives me in terms of the joy, in terms of the love for the game. But I'm done with it.

I don't see myself coaching because the intensity of that is massive, and the intensity as a manager, for example Arsene Wenger, is even more.

You never stop working, you never stop doing things because there's someone behind you - in a respectful way - who is giving absolutely everything in every single training session.

I invested a lot in my fitness.

Arsenal is one of the top teams in Europe and I have been looking out for Arsenal since I got my first jersey when I was ten or 12.

I was talented at a young age, but I still had to grow and develop further.

There are so many people around young kids nowadays it can make it very tough and difficult - people who think they are going to care for those kids but do the opposite.