Per Mertesacker has reiterated his desire to extend his stay with Arsenal but concedes talks over a fresh deal have not started.
The Arsenal captain has not featured this season after picking up a knee injury in pre-season and isn’t expected to win back his place straight away following the promising start made by summer signing Shkodran Mustafi alongside Laurent Koscielny.
Mertesacker’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the season and there had been reports linking him with a report to Germany, but the 32-year-old wants to win a new deal at Arsenal.
“A new Arsenal contract has absolute priority for me. But no dates have been set [for talks],” Mertesacker told German website Spox, via The Daily Mail.
“Arsenal has the highest priority for me. Everything else is pure speculation, and I won’t join the discussion.
“I am very satisfied with the course of my rehab. The doctors and therapists do an excellent job and the team around me works perfectly.”
Mertesacker has spent the last five seasons at Arsenal after moving from German side Hannover in 2011 and was named club captain during the summer following Mikel Arteta’s retirement.
In his absence Arsenal have made a sensational start to the season and seem to have adopted a newfound resilience with Mustafi and Koscielny in the centre of defence. Only Manchester City (+15) have a better goal difference than Arsenal (+13) in the Premier League this season.
For more stats on Per Mertesacker, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
