Top 98 Quotes & Sayings by Per Mertesacker

If you just protect and you have no chances on the break and you miss one chance to kill the game, then it's difficult in the Premier League to win any game.

At Arsenal you are replaceable so quickly as a player, I don't want to stand in someone's way.

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

One thing is for sure, I will give everything every time I put on the Arsenal shirt.

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

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.

Even when you are experienced, sometimes mistakes happen.

Being in a career and going from highlight to highlight and playing a lot of matches you go through it and think it's normal when you play in front of 60,000 and you almost want to vomit in front of every game.

Suarez is like a cheeky boy, he looks like a cheeky boy who can really switch on and off how he wants to be, so that is really something. When he is on the pitch, what is going on around him doesn't bother him.

The first Premier League season is always tough for anyone.

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.

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

Football has taught me so much.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

The interaction between the goalkeeper and the back four has to be top to compete in the Premier League.

I was lucky to get a professional contract. I wasn't that sort of talent that is considered to be a professional player.

No matter how much striking power you have got, you need to have a sense of defensive compactness from everyone.

Of course I have an advantage with my size on set pieces.

In the moments before a game starts my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes tear.

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.'

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.

When I played for Hannover I had several offers, also - as I have been told - from Hamburg, Bremen and Bayern. Back then I already was a German international and Bayern would have loved to have the complete German national team.

Never tackle, never go down, we've heard it over and over again. You have to try to keep Messi away from the goal and block him with multiple players while being as close to him as possible. He is too quick, too fast, too intense with the ball.

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

First and foremost, Wenger saw us as human beings and he had a lot of faith in us, which is why he stood by us.

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

Sometimes I get the feeling that some parents really think their son can pay for their pension, especially being in London.

You know what you have achieved and what you have been through.

I expect myself to perform at that level every single week.

I can't even count to five when I say my proper friends in football.

I never heard anything about 'potatoes' or 'kanaken' during my time in the national team. However I have been called 'potato,' too.

Arsenal has always been special for me.

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.

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.

That's why I kept going with my school - I wasn't talented. That's what's the difficulty - you want to define key talents when they are 12, 13 or 14? When I was that age I was nowhere near. People had given up on me.

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.

I want players to think: 'OK, this has happened now, what is next for me?' That's a very big target because what are academies about nowadays? Is it really just to find one or two players? But what happened to the others? I'm very, very interested in that.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

I want to make an impact on young people's lives and be part of their future no matter what they do because I have seen that all the very talented players at 15, 16 still had very little chance to be successful in football.

The main thing for me was that I wanted to be able to decide when my international career would end after 10 years myself.

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

I invested a lot in my fitness.

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

The heritage of Arsenal, to believe in our academy and to really promote our academy. That's important and that's why I am here as well. I wouldn't waste my time just to know that we are not having successes here at Arsenal.

Talent is what you make of your situation.

I was extremely lucky with my career and I want to finish on a high.

You spend some time with kids, you always take something with you.