Centreback Per Mertesacker has been speaking to Arsenal.com about how our set-up during matches and admits that sometimes, he doesn’t quite get it either.

Talking to Arsenal.com, he revealed, “We are so unpredictable in what we are doing, even for me at the back sometimes it looks a bit weird! Sometimes we lose balance but sometimes it is really good so we have to keep going and focus on our game, especially defensively.”

The BFG also spoke about the importance of qualifying directly for the Champion’s League and highlighted the importance of not having the pressure of the qualifying matches at the start of the season.

“We want to qualify directly for the Champions League. The championship has gone but it would be an improvement for us from last season where we had those two qualifying matches [against Besiktas], really tight ones, to secure the Champions League.”

As well as qualifying directly for the Champion’s League, the German also spoke about how much the team want to retain the FA Cup on May 30th, saying, “That is the first target and then obviously the FA Cup – to defend our title would be absolutely amazing. That is the focus at the minute and it looks like we are quite sharp. It demands a lot but how we keep going is really pleasing.”

On the Hull City match, the German wanted to reiterate the importance of not underestimating the opposition.

“It is a massive win for us. It was a comfortable situation for us before the game but they’re fighting against relegation at the bottom, so it was a tough occasion for us but it was very pleasing how we dealt with it.”

Previously on Daily Cannon, we reported on the defender’s quotes regarding 2015 and how proud he is of our progress. He expanded on this point, saying, “I think the way we have progressed in 2015 is absolutely fantastic and everyone wants to finish strong. How we have dealt with situations like that over the last couple of years is fantastic and really good to see.”

Next Monday, Arsenal face Swansea at the Emirates.

The fight for second is now on and I’m glad to see our captain is up for the challenge.