Shkodran Mustafi recently told Arsenal Player just how much having fellow German, Per Mertesacker, at the club has helped him during his half-a-season in north London.

The centreback has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water and has quickly slotted into the first team alongside Laurent Koscielny perfectly. In fact, when Mertesacker does return from his knee surgery, which should be soon, it’s likely that his compatriot will have taken his place in the first team full-time.

Despite this, apparently our BFG has been helping Mustafi to develop.

“Per helped me a lot,” Mustafi said. “When I had just arrived, having a person at the club with so much experience and with the personality he has helped me a lot.

“He helps me on the pitch because when he sees things, he corrected me a few times. He’s not just the type of player who says, ‘You didn’t do that well enough’ or, ‘You have to do it this way’, he tells you why.

“In the short time that I worked with him in the national team, I learned a lot from him.”

He’s a good sort, is our Per. He’s out of contract at the end of the season and although there have been rumours that we could extend it by a year, these are unconfirmed. Therefore, he knows all too well that he’s helping to train up his replacement. It shows what type of person he is and perhaps why he was chosen to be captain.