Former Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker has revealed that Arsene Wenger deliberately sent “less interesting” players to do interviews following their 8-2 thrashing by (Manchester United.
The Emirates hero, who is now a coach at the north Londoners, made the revelation in his new book in which he discusses a series of topics including his former manager .
Mertesacker arrived at the Gunners three days after their infamous 8-2 thrashing by fierce rivals United and was stunned that he didn’t walk into a shell-shocked dressing room.
In fact, the towering German defender revealed how the players were calm despite suffering a humiliating defeat by United, whom they face at Old Trafford on Monday night .
Writing in his his new bookBFG: Big Friendly German, he said: “There was no feeling of tension, let alone crisis. Any negativity was blocked out – literally – due to the fact that London Colney – Arsenal’s training ground – didn’t admit fans or members of the press.
“There is no normal interaction between players and people in the streets, which means you’re hardly ever confronted with different perspectives, you never get to witness first-hand how much the club means to people, and only rarely do you have to speak to journalists.
“In the long run, preventing the public from gaining any kind of normal access to them doesn’t do players any favors. Rather, it creates a vacuum for them to float around in. Living such a cloistered life isn’t good for someone’s development. “
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The retired defender also revealed how players were banned from reading newspapers in the dressing room to protect them from negative reviews.
He added that the cultural differences betweenArsenaland his old clubs in Germany – Hannover and Werder Bremen – were also huge.
He said: “At Arsenal, things were completely different. They didn’t want everything to be focused on a single player. Instead, they preferred to send someone who might be less interesting to the media. “
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