Mertesacker hails Arsenal team spirit

Aug 12, 2013 8:18:00 PM

The Germany international is feeling good after his first full pre-season as a Gunners player, Arsene Wenger's men having recorded several fine results over the summer

Per Mertesacker believes that Arsenal's pre-season preparations have brought them closer and made them stronger ahead of the new campaign.

The 28-year-old was a member of the Gunners squad on their recent Asia tour, which brought four wins from as many games, two of which were by a margin of six or more goals, with Arsene Wenger's men going on to beat Premier League rivals Manchester City 3-1 in Helsinki on Saturday.

It has been a first full pre-season for Mertesacker with the London club, having signed on deadline day in 2011 and spent much of last season's preparations injured, and the Germany international is enthused by what he has seen so far.

"We've had a longer pre-season and more time to know each other better, to prepare ourselves in training," he told the club's official website.

"I think we have a good team spirit and we've built it up, especially in Asia, where we were together for more than two weeks.

"If we stick together more in the first month, especially in the Champions League qualifier [against Fenerbahce] and the first games of the Premier League, we can continue our good run that we had [at the end] of last season." ------------------------ goal.com