The Gunners’ defender is hoping that knowledge about his teammate Robin van Persie will land him a place in the starting line up against Netherlands.
Per Mertesacker was not in Germany’s starting line up for his side’s opening fixture of the ‘Group of death’. Joachim Low opted to start Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber in his place, who put in a great shift against Portugal,
blocked every shot that threatened their goal and kept a clean sheet.
Although the German tactician admitted that he might make a few changes to the side that defeated Portugal, but he will be tempted to leave the back five unchanged.
Mertesacker completed his switch to North London last summer, and he has had a somewhat shaky start to his Arsenal career. The former Werder Bremen failed to adapt to the high tempo game in England, and lost his starting spot to
Laurent Koscielny.
The giant defender however admits it is hard to watch from the bench while your teammates play. Although still unaware of the reasons why he was dropped, Mertesacker vows to train hard and force his way into Joachim Low’s starting
line up.
"I will continue to work. Just because the defender is sitting on the bench, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t play a function in the team anymore. On the contrary due to yellow card or injury, a lot could happen really quickly,” he
is quoted as saying in an interview.
The 27-year old Germany international could play a part in his country’s match against Netherlands after all; the defender believes he knows a great deal about his Arsenal teammate Van Persie’s game. The knowledge about his fellow
Gunner could land him a place in the starting line up or he will be more than willing to assist his Germany teammates on how to defend against Netherlands’ talisman.
“He is an instinctive player who always finds an answer. Maybe he does the same thing again and again and is predictable. He is a world class striker that reacts to what defenders do. That he was a wonderful left foot, the coach
already knows. Still, I can advise to my colleagues on what to do,” he added.
Germany will have to be on their toes in their next fixture against Bert van Marwijk’s men, as it will be a must win game for the Netherlands. Joachim will have to deploy his best defenders against the Dutch if he is to cement
his team’s place in the next round of the 2012 European Championship.
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