16 clearances, 97% pass success: Arsenal commander leads Gunners to top spot

As Arsenal looked to close out a 1-0 victory at Newcastle, Arsene Wenger did something very unusual.

With 10 minutes to go, Wenger withdrew an attacker, Theo Walcott, and brought on a defender, Carl Jenkinson. Jenkinson joined Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna and Mathieu Flamini in a re-jigged back five.

Arsenal usually play with a back four. Switching to a back five was a statement of Arsenal’s defensive intent. They were prepared to surrender territory and momentum to Newcastle. The match effectively became a training exercise of attack versus defence.

Defence won.

Try as they might, the Toon Army could not penetrate Arsenal’s defensive wall. The siege was testing, but Arsenal endured.

Wenger was prepared to use defensive tactics because, for the first time in years, he has a defence he can rely on.

At the heart of Arsenal’s rear-guard action was Per Mertesacker. The 6’6” German put in a gigantic performance.

The ball seemed to be sucked towards him. Every thing Newcastle threw at Arsenal, Mertesacker was able to cut out. Every question Alan Pardew’s team posed, Mertesacker had an answer for.

Throughout the 90 minutes, Mertesacker made 16 clearances.

Ten of those clearances came from inside his own penalty area. This was backs-to-the-wall stuff, and that’s where Mertesacker thrives.

His style of play, based on anticipation and intelligence, thrives amid the tumult of the Premier League. He is happy for the opposition to launch long balls in his direction, as he has both the perceptiveness and the heading ability to arrive there first and get the ball clear.

When Newcastle introduced Shola Ameobi, they might have hoped to put an end to Mertesacker’s aerial dominance. However, Mertesacker won both of his headed duels against the Nigerian international.

In the absence of Thomas Vermaelen, Mertesacker wore the captain’s armband at Newcastle. His display ensured that he led by example.