|
Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck has said teammate Per Mertesacker helped him through "a dark place" during his most recent long-term injury layoff. Welbeck recently returned from knee surgery, having missed most of last season, and said fellow long-term injury absentee Mertesacker had boosted his spirits. "Obviously we both had long-term knee injuries," Welbeck said in an Arsenal YouTube video looking back at big moments in his career. "It's difficult to put this guy into words. He just lifts the whole atmosphere up in the dressing room. "And I think he helped me a lot. He's always there talking to you, giving you advice, asking you how you're feeling. "I think once you're injured it can be quite a dark place, but Per was one of the reasons that kept me smiling." Mertesacker needed knee surgery in August after damaging ligaments in a preseason game, and has yet to make an appearance since taking over the club captaincy. But Welbeck, who netted two goals in his first start of the season against Southampton in the FA Cup, said the German still has a big influence on the team -- including on the music played before matches. "You walk in the dressing room and he's just there singing Drake and Future, stuff like that," Welbeck said. "You wouldn't expect it if you met Per Mertesacker just in the street. But he's a top man." Welbeck, who signed for Arsenal from Manchester United in 2014, said he still keeps in touch with Sir Alex Ferguson and that the United boss had texted him after his injury comeback. And he said people's views of the legendary United manager are not necessarily correct, adding: "He's not always as angry as people think. "You do see the odd hairdryer now and then. But it's all for a reason, and it's all to better you as a person and as a player."
|
