Per Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker

Mertesacker with Arsenal in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Per Mertesacker[1]
Date of birth	(1984-09-29) 29 September 1984 (age 39)[2]
Place of birth	Hanover,[3] West Germany
Height	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)[4]
Position(s)	Centre back[5]
Team information
Current team	Arsenal Academy (manager)
Youth career
1988–1995	TSV Pattensen
1995–2003	Hannover 96
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Hannover 96 II	16	(1)
2003–2006	Hannover 96	74	(7)
2006–2011	Werder Bremen	147	(12)
2011–2018	Arsenal	156	(6)
Total		393	(26)
International career
2003	Germany U20	2	(0)
2004	Germany U21	3	(0)
2004–2014	Germany	104	(4)
Managerial career
2018–	Arsenal Academy
2019	Arsenal (interim assistant)
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Germany FIFA World Cup Winner 2014 Brazil 2006 Germany 2010 South Africa UEFA European Championship Runner-up 2008 Austria–Switzerland 2012 Poland–Ukraine FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Per Mertesacker (German pronunciation: [ˈpeːɐ̯ ˈmɛɐ̯təsʔakɐ]; born 29 September 1984) is a German football coach and former professional player who played as a centre back. He is the current manager of the Arsenal Academy.^[6]

Mertesacker began his senior career after being promoted from the youth ranks at Bundesliga club Hannover 96, making his senior league debut in November 2003. He was soon dubbed "the Defence Pole" ("die Abwehrlatte") by German tabloids, and gained a reputation for his exceptional disciplinary record, going 31 league games without being booked.^[7] After various standout performances at Hannover, as well as starring for the Germany national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup at age 21, he transferred after 74 league matches for Hannover^[8] to fellow Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen, for a fee of €5 million later that summer. His tenure at the club was characterized for his ability to read play and stifle the build-up play to opposition attacks, establishing himself as a defender with a quiet-but-effective game, and a core-component of the Bremen team that won the 2009 DFB-Pokal, and finished as runner-up in the 2009 UEFA Cup.

After being singled out for praise for his performances at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and with his contract at Bremen dwindling, he transferred to Premier League club Arsenal a year later, for a fee of £8 million.^[9] At Arsenal, Mertesacker quickly established himself as the first-choice centre back for the club, becoming a mainstay despite sharing several defensive partners over his first two seasons.^[10] He eventually built up a solid relationship with fellow defender Laurent Koscielny, and the duo would star as Arsenal ended their nine-year trophy drought by winning the 2014 FA Cup. He would later captain and score for the side in their retention of the trophy a year later, before becoming the club's outright captain in 2016. He would again star in his third victory of the trophy in 2017. However, injuries derailed the latter stages of his career at Arsenal, and was used sparingly during his final two seasons, being forced to retire in 2018.

At national level, Mertesacker played for Germany at the under-20 and under-21 levels, prior to debuting for the senior side in 2004 against Iran. Upon his debut, Mertesacker established himself as Germany's first-choice centre back for ten years, participating in UEFA European Championship in 2008 and 2012, as well as the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, winning the latter. He would retire from international competition following this win.^[11]

Mertesacker has developed other ventures, including the "Per Mertesacker Stiftung", a charitable foundation that helps support amateur sportsmen, and the poor.^[12][13] He would transition into coaching following his retirement, taking charge of the Arsenal Academy.