Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker has committed his future to The Gunners after agreeing to sign a new one-year extension, according to reports from The Times.
As per The Times, the defender has been offered £70,000-per-week as sign up bonuses to stay at Emirates until the end of next season.
Mertesacker has not played a single minute of league football this season but despite that manager Arsene Wenger was keen to keep hold of his skipper.
When asked about Mertesacker’s contract situation earlier in the season, Wenger said: “We have an option on both of them and I think we will take it,”
“For their qualities as football players firstly but as well for their mental guidance. We need to have a balance between youth and experience. They are important in that.”
Face of Football’s Take
On current form, I think Per Mertesacker will be Arsenal’s 4th choice central defender behind Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel.
Given Mertesacker’s age, I do not see him staying at The Emirates for long as well. So, handing him a contract worth £70k-per-week makes little sense to me as Arsenal could have gone ahead and signed someone YOUNGER and BETTER for that amount of money.