Per Mertesacker reveals ‘there was no feeling of tension’ after Arsenal’s embarrassing 8-2 defeat at Manchester United in 2011
Former Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has explained his shock at arriving at the club in August 2011 to a feeling of 'no tension' - despite the Gunners suffering an 8-2 defeat at Manchester United just days earlier.
The 34-year-old, who now works at the club as a coach, also claimed the north London club tactically use 'less interesting' players for pre-match media commitments to avoid any headlines being made.
Mertesacker believes it is the wrong approach to shelter these players from criticism, as it isn't good for their development moving forward.
In his new book , the World-Cup winning centre-half also revealed players are forbidden from reading newspapers to avoid seeing 'negative reviews.'
"There was no feeling of tension, let alone crisis. Any negativity was blocked out — literally — due to the fact that London Colney – Arsenal's training ground – didn't admit fans or members of the press," he said.
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"There is no normal interaction between players and people in the streets, which means you're hardly ever confronted with different perspectives, you never get to witness first-hand how much the club means to people, and only rarely do you have to speak to journalists.
"In the long run, preventing the public from gaining any kind of normal access to them doesn't do players any favours.
"Rather, it creates a vacuum for them to float around in. Living such a cloistered life isn't good for someone's development."
The cultural differences between Arsenal and Mertesacker's former clubs in Germany, Hannover and Werder Bremen were evident for him to see.
The German cites his surprise at not being asked to speak to the media ahead of a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund as an example of this.
"At Arsenal, things were completely different. They didn't want everything to be focused on a single player.
"Instead, they preferred to send someone who might be less interesting to the media."