Per Mertesacker reveals inspiration behind Arsenal's FA Cup Final win over Chelsea

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James Benge26 March 2018

Per Mertesacker has revealed that a series of video tributes to their team-mates inspired Arsenal to a shock FA Cup Final win over Chelsea last May.

Arsene Wenger’s side went into the Wembley showpiece as undisputed underdogs against the league champions Chelsea but played their London rivals off the park in a 2-1 win that saw their manager set a record for FA Cup wins.

Their club captain was central to that triumph. Indeed so effective was his shackling of striker Diego Costa that Arsenal great Martin Keown said the game should be known as the “Mertesacker Final”.

He was not the only Arsenal player to raise their game on the biggest stage, something Mertesacker credits to the messages the squad sent to each other before kick-off last May.

“We said before that we want to do something like a motivational video,” Mertesacker, who will retire at the end of the season and take over the running of the club's academy, told the Arsenal Weekly Podcast. “Two years before we had a video where all the relatives, friends, family sent us some videos for us to get emotional, get the motivation in.

“This time we thought we’d video ourselves and try to explain what the team-mate is about. Everyone picked three team-mates to have a little two-minute video about what he loves about the person, how he competes, what he stands for.

“That was pretty awesome I have to say. Once someone else is talking about you, about your strength, about what you give to the team, that was pretty emotional.

“That was a big plus before that game. Everyone was happy to sacrifice for their team-mates. That was the feeling.

“That [video] was just before the team meeting. We felt really good about it. As you could see there was positive energy in the group that day. Even though not everyone was involved those 19 who got a message from a team-mate were pretty pumped. We nailed it.”

Mertesacker’s display in the victory was all the more remarkable coming as it did at the end of a hellish season for the World Cup winner.

A major knee injury and the signing of Shkodran Mustafi meant that Mertesacker did not even feature for Arsenal until the closing minutes of the final Premier League game of the season.

Arsenal's FA Cup wins under Arsene Wenger

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Indeed it was only injuries to Mustafi and Gabriel coupled with the suspension of Laurent Koscielny that gave Mertesacker the chance to step into the fray.

“I’m just humbled by the trust in my ability, in my person, of the manager, my team-mates,” he said. “I could never feel any doubt that I’m probably not capable even with the background I came in with.

“I had played 37 minutes Premier League football that season and the rest was just me being sidelined, out somewhere else, not being involved. I was mentally drained by not being picked all season. I’d been named captain and wanted to make an impact.

AFP/Getty Images

“What stood out was the trust in me that I could still bring it on final occasions, at Wembley. Then when it really counts you cannot afford to make mistakes. I was amazed by that trust of the whole club in me personally.

“I did what I’ve done for about 15 years and that kept me going. Keep it simple. Play the pass. Try to help where I can. Communicate.

“One week before I was 99 per cent not in the squad. One week on you play 90 minutes, the first of the season, with a young team-mate to share that moment. It’s pretty amazing.

“I’ve had very good moments in my career but especially after how that season ended it was a perfect example.”

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