Per Mertesacker says the “absolutely amazing” belief shown by the club’s inner core helped the team ride out their early-season struggles.

Following a World Cup that saw 11 Gunners in action in Brazil, Arsene Wenger’s side made a slow start to the campaign.

However, they have hit form in recent months to record 15 wins in 17 games, and Mertesacker credits that resurgence to the trust shown in the players.

"The belief and trust of the manager and the inner core of the club has been absolutely amazing" Per Mertesacker

“Those who came from the World Cup had no break and no pre-season, we started right in the season and [had to] try to find form,” he told Arsenal Player.

“A lot of players got injured or weren’t in the best form, so it took us a while to be at our top level.

“I am delighted with how the team responded to the criticism that came our way because it is a completely new experience for a lot of players to have post-World Cup difficulties.

“But the belief and trust of the manager and the inner core of the club has been absolutely amazing. This means more to me than what happened in the first few months with the lack of form and the criticism.

“We are in a good position now [but at the start] we suffered a lot of injuries to players who were amazing last season, so we had to replace them with youngsters.

“But there was always good energy because they proved they can deliver good performances for the team and that raised everyone’s level. I am delighted with the team’s performances throughout the year.”