German wants Londoners to be more like United and City.
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Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has called on the north London club to be on top of their game right from the very off next season as the Gunners go in search of their first piece of silverware since 2005, reports the Observer.
The experienced Germany international was speaking on the club’s pre-season tour of Asia, with Arsenal currently in Indonesia on the first leg of their trip to the Far East.
And the 28-year-old wants he and his team-mates to hit the ground running as soon as the new Premier League campaign gets under way against Aston Villa at the Emirates on Aug 17.
The tall central defender believes that if Arsene Wenger’s men can emulate the likes of both Manchester United and Manchester City in the new campaign in terms of the consistency both those two sides have shown throughout each of the previous two seasons, then the club’s eight-year wait for a trophy could soon be about to come to an end.
Mertesacker, who has featured in 71 matches in total for the Gunners since joining them from Werder Bremen on a four-year deal in August 2011, also feels that the fact Wenger has managed to keep hold of all of his star players for once this summer will also greatly help the team next season.
“We must be well prepared both mentally and physically to do it straight from the off,” Mertesacker said. “It’s very hard to be consistent and that’s the main reason for Manchester City and Manchester United being successful in the last two years. They have shown for the whole season that they are consistent and that will be our main focus for the next season to show that as well.
“We haven’t sold any players yet so we are coming from a good base. We’re at a good level and no one is leaving. Maybe someone will come and strengthen our squad, so it’s a better position to be in than last summer when we lost two important players [in Robin van Persie and Alex Song]. I would say consistency is the most important thing. If we can do that, then we should be challenging for trophies and titles.”