Big F*cking German Tee – Order yours today
Every thoroughbred Arsenal fan can attest to the fact that Per Mertesacker has grown to become one of the most influential players in the team since his transfer deadline day move from Werder Bremen in 2011. His towering height mitigated a long-term problem the Gunners had as aerial balls over the top became a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh with the team’s defenders not having the adequate height to deal with such issues.
After playing 27 games in his first season with Arsenal, Per Mertesacker’s season reached an abrupt end when Arsenal visited Sunderland in that pitch good enough to raise cattle. He recovered in time for Euro 2012 but he failed to make any appearance with Holger Badstuber and Matts Hummels playing every game for Germany in the tournament.
Mertesacker began last season’s campaign alongside Thomas Vermaelen and they worked in tandem to get three clean sheets on the bounce at the start of the season. If you thought Mertesacker’s performance against Liverpool (away) was superb, his outing against Manchester City (away) was one of his best in Arsenal colors, as he made so many Per-fect Merte-ceptions in the course of the game.
He proved his worth to the squad when he wasn’t on the pitch as Arsenal struggled in his absence with Vermaelen and Koscielny failing to click with each other. When they played with each other, they lacked the calmness, coordination, composure and positional discipline the BFG had.
He also added goals to his game with three headers against Tottenham (twice) as well as the match winner in the crucial game against Fulham (away). This season, Mertesacker became a mainstay in the team and he has excelled admirably in his defensive duties.
He’s known for being a very clean defender but he got his hands dirty with his first red card in Arsenal colors. However, that game will be forever remembered for the innovative tackle he attempted with his back. It was a truly remarkable season for the big friendly giant and I hope he builds on it.
This season, Mertesacker has grown in stature and has even worn the arm band a couple of times, as he’s one of the “leaders” of the team. According to WhoScored this season, Mertesacker has played nine Premier League games ans he has attempted 10 tackles (1.1 per game), 14 merte-ceptions (1.6 per game), three fouls (0.3 per game), four blocked shots (0.4 per game) and a whooping 39 clearances (3.9 per game). He has also made 452 passes (414 successful) which gives him a pass completion percentage of 91.6 percent.
Per heading Germany’s winner against England in Wembley
Mertesacker recently got a place in the spotlight following his match-winning goal against England but he has also been on the news for his most recent act – giving to his charity organization as he turned his moniker into a brilliant fund raising strategy for the Stiftung Foundation.
Due to his massive Gulliver-like stature, Per Mertesacker is fondly known as the Big F*ckin’ German and he even has a fan song that is to the tune of Wyclef Jean’s “Guantanamera“.
With this in mind, Mertesacker and SpielBaum have worked together to come up with “Big F*ckin’ German” T-Shirts whose earnings would be channeled to the Stiftung Foundation. The shirts come in four different sizes – Small, Medium, Large and Xtra Large and they also come various colors ranging from deep red, black, olive and navy.
It has a Goonerific feel
I’m in love with the deep red T-shirt because it gives me that Arsenal feel and I’ve already placed my order. It gives me more comfort to know that purchasing this T-shirt would help a child in the Stifting Foundation and I advise you do the same.
Here’s to Arsenal’s Big F*ckin’ German – Per Mertesacker.
Sayonara.
Gooner Daily has been nominated for the Best Sports blog category in the 2013 Nigerian Blog Awards. Please vote!
You can download the Gooner Daily BlackBerry App to receive notifications on your Smart Phone when a post is published.
You can follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily. I’ll follow back
Feel free to visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page and click on the like button.
You can also join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List to get notifications of new posts by email by clicking on the Follow button
