It was while Per Mertesacker was back home in Hanover, just one week after major knee surgery, that his mobile phone flashed up with a call from Arsene Wenger.

The manager wanted to talk about the Arsenal captaincy following the departure of Mikel Arteta and, having been confined to his bed at the start of five long months of rehabilitation, Mertesacker was fully prepared for another big blow.

“It was a tough decision and I would have understood everything if he had said that he needed someone nearby the team,” says Mertesacker.

“He knew how long I was out but he told me that he still saw me as a big figure for the club and that I was his first choice. I couldn’t believe it. It was huge for me. I was really buzzing as it came at the time I didn’t think it was going to happen. You want to be on the pitch, giving advice, making the difference, but sometimes that is not the role and you have to let it go. I needed to learn that. I felt very confident that I could still fulfil the role by being myself. That was what the manager demanded as well. He said, ‘Do not force anything; be natural, be yourself and don’t exaggerate the captaincy’.”