Per Mertesacker has extended his contract with us - and our skipper has used his captain’s notes in the upcoming Burnley programme to outline how delighted he is to be staying at the club.

Read on to see what Per has had to say, and download the digital version of the programme for free right here:

Per Mertesacker:

I would like to say how very grateful I am to have extended my contract here. It makes me really proud and also a bit emotional. I’ve been out for six months now and to have such trust and belief from the manager makes me very humble and thankful.

Trust me, I’ll do everything possible on a daily basis to make myself better and everybody around me better. I’m working really hard to come back and show that I’m still capable on the pitch, because I want to help make this great club as successful as possible.

My love for this club is authentic. I care a lot about team-mates, about fans, and I want people to identify with us. It’s very important to me now and it always has been. I feel like there’s always been a link between myself and Arsenal.

I’ve told the story a few times about when I came to London as a young boy and came back with an Arsenal shirt. I’ve never thrown that shirt away, and in fact it’s framed and is on the wall of my office back in Germany. I’ll always keep it because it’s a reminder of the circle, of the journey I’ve been on with Arsenal, and of the people who have supported me and have helped me to reach my goals. Wearing an Arsenal shirt is genuinely something that is special to me and that shirt always reminds me of that.

So the way I feel about this club is genuine, it’s real and I’m very pleased with the manager’s decision to keep me. I’ll continue to give my absolute all to make this club go forward. We deserve to be successful, we have a good group and I’m convinced we're on the right path now.