Per Mertesacker: ‘I want to make an impact on young people’s lives’

11 September 2019 21:30
Arsenal’s academy manager talks about his parents’ influence, Mesut Özil and what he wants from his playersHow did you find the experience of writing a book?It was a good exercise for me to reflect on 30 years within football and different experiences. Because I wasn’t regarded as that talented, I always wanted to find out what did it make within me when people said: ‘You’re not good enough.’ And my upbringing ... as my dad sat next to me negotiating a contract and saying: ‘No, no, this is too much’ – he refused to take that money. I was really angry at that time with him but he was sending me messages which were really important moving forward. I look back to those moments and think they had a bigger impact on me than I expected. Continue reading......read full article

Source: TheGuardian