Arsene Wenger reveals Arsenal are yet to offer Per Mertesacker a new contract as defender continues recovery

New deal? Contract negotiations with Mertesacker have not started
Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
James Olley16 September 2016

Arsene Wenger today revealed Arsenal are yet to offer Per Mertesacker a new contract despite his present deal expiring at the end of the season.

The 31-year-old is currently sidelined until the New Year after suffering a serious knee injury but was still handed the club captaincy after the extent of his setback was known in the wake of Mikel Arteta’s retirement.

Mertesacker’s future was placed in further doubt after the Gunners spent £35million on centre-back Shkodran Mustafi in the summer and Wenger said: “At the moment we have not dealt yet with that [contract] situation. We are not especially [waiting for him to be fit] but of course he has to come back. We will see together at some stage when he will be back in full training.”

As Standard Sport reported this morning, Aaron Ramsey will miss tomorrow’s trip to Hull as he continues to recover from a hamstring problem while Theo Walcott will be assessed after picking up a knee injury which ruled him out of Tuesday’s Champions League draw at Paris St Germain.

“I hoped [Ramsey would be available] but he is not ready,” said Wenger. “[The EFL Cup] will come too early for him. We are cautious with him, we do not want a set back with his hamstring. At the moment, for Tuesday it is really too early for him.”

Wenger also revealed that Petr Cech is set to return in goal after David Ospina was selected ahead of him in the French capital while Olivier Giroud is a doubt following a knock to his big toe against PSG.

Giroud was sent off in midweek and is yet to start a game this season following a difficult summer at Euro 2016 in which he was regularly targeted for criticism by French supporters; he was jeered by a significant section of the Parc des Princes crowd on Tuesday.

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However, Wenger insisted: “He got a bit of sceptical attitude from the French fans before the competition, and during the competition he convinced everybody he was the right choice.

“I talked to him about it because he has done extremely well to turn people around. He's strong mentally. To do what he did is not easy.

“He has been a bit behind at the start, fitness-wise, behind [Laurent] Koscielny and [Mesut] Ozil. Since last week he's slowly getting back to full fitness.”

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