When Per Mertesacker decided to retire from football in the summer of 2018, he had a big decision to make - walk away from the game forever or take on his biggest challenge yet. Speaking exclusively to our ‘In Lockdown’ podcast, our former captain explained why he decided to stay in north London and become head of our academy.   "Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis sat me down," Mertesacker said. "They said, 'Listen, you've got one more year left on your contract, can you imagine staying with the club?'   "I always gave the indication that I would be very happy [to stay]. As a family, we are settled and it's the club I love so I would love to make a contribution.  ...
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