Quotes from Per Mertesacker

After you have won a game, you can maybe smile for a minute and then you have to think: 'How can I recover as quickly as possible.'

Mesut and I played together at Werder Bremen and Arsenal for so many years. There is no other player that I shared so much time with. We were important for each other.

There are still so many issues around young players, and we need to find the right way for them. What is really important? What does he need for his self-belief? For his development?

When you step up as a young talent, you need to challenge the old lads.

I think it is so beneficial to English and British football when youngsters see different cultures and environments.

Youngsters need self-esteem, simple targets in life which give energy. In the academy they can be so easily distracted by so many other things it's amazing.

If Messi has the ball, he is fantastic to watch and difficult to stop. You have to double up on him, triple up on him even, stay with him constantly to block his way to the goal.

Mentality is a big part of every game, when you take the initiative and when you drop.

That's what I love, getting the tube, not getting any recognition, trying to be as normal as possible. Sometimes you get a big Arsenal fan and they tell you they have a season ticket or want to have a chat, which is fine. Some want a selfie, but sometimes I just want to say: 'Let's just shake hands. It means more than a picture.'

Playing at the highest level really is something special for me.

If there is a really good player at U16 level who disrespects the coach, if you then say: 'You can go somewhere else then. That is not how we do things here.' That would be powerful.

The more people that write me off, the stronger I get. That's my feeling.

The more people that write me off, the stronger I get.

Arsene Wenger is a coach who has a very special personality. He has an experience that not many coaches have, and all at one club, at Arsenal.

It is an important part of the role of a centre-back to focus on building up the game and initiating moves.

Even at the age of 33 I was one of the most flexible at Arsenal when it came to my back muscles.

In Germany I already know everything, I know every stadium.

The amount of staff we have in academies is... I've never seen anything like it. It's good to take care of the players but sometimes I get confused by the number of people who have an impact on one kid - we're talking 100 people or more. It's quite a heavy load.

Everyone says I should really savour the last year, play as much as possible, really soak everything in. I'd most like to sit on the bench, or, even better, in the stands.

Sometimes as a player you have a different view and you can't believe what we did as a defensive unit.

We have to present ourselves as a unit, no matter what happens. That is what Arsenal stands for.

Arsene Wenger was always the kind of manager whose belief in his team's qualities was steady as a rock and who approached matters with never-ending patience.

The first time in my career I thought it makes no sense anymore, that I'll retire.

I had a totally different upbringing, totally different background, raised in Germany, small town, now I am in London taking care of 180 kids who think they are the one percent who can make it in professional football.