Per Mertesacker could return from illness to face Tottenham in the kids cup this week.

After spending 18 days in bed with a chest infection, the BFG has taken some time to fully recover his strength but during his time off he travelled to Germany where he appeared on a TV show there.

Asked about his contract, the club’s vice-captain confirmed that he has two more years left to run on his current deal, after which time he will decide upon his future with a return to his homeland a possibility.

SINGAPORE - JULY 15: Per Mertesacker of Arsenal in action during the Barclays Asia Trophy match between Arsenal and Singapore at National Stadium on July 15, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)
Captain Calm (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)

“Oh, I’ll decide then according to my form at the time,” Per said after confirming his contract length and in response to being asked what he would do then.

“I will have had great years as a professional then, my state of health then will determine it, it’s difficult to judge now.

“But I do like the Bundesliga, I like some teams there, so of course we can imagine coming back to Germany and what else can I do better than play football and occupy myself with that?”

With Gabriel being maligned in some Arsenal quarters for not showing enough calm in the face of Chelsea’s cheater-in-chief, Per has been missed from the side for his ability to control the players in a way that stand-in Santi Cazorla just isn’t capable of doing.

It’s hard to imagine the BFG being provoked by Costa in the same way that Gabriel was, but, as I said before the match on Saturday

Thanks to @nessa1909 for help with the translation of Mertesacker’s full interview, which you can find here.