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Per - Mentality key to our away form

Per Mertesacker
Per Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker says Arsenal's outstanding away form is down to their consistently strong mentality on the road.

Arsene Wenger's side have won their last nine matches in all competitions away from Emirates Stadium - a run that began with a 2-0 victory at eventual European champions Bayern Munich in March.

"You could feel it from the first day that there is something special in this team"

Wenger himself believes that win at the Allianz Arena gave his players confidence, and Mertesacker agrees.

"We have an exceptional team - thatโ€™s the main thing," he said. "We built up confidence from last season, especially the last 10 games when we didnโ€™t lose anything.

"You could feel it from the first day that there is something special in this team, apart from the first game [against Aston Villa], no one dropped and the performance went well after that.

"We have shown so far that we are ready to keep our confidence and keep the run going. The most important thing is to keep that mental level high and to be prepared for tomorrow because it will be hard [against Marseille].

"They will put pressure on us so we need to be aware of that, particularly in the first 15-20 minutes."

Arsenal's togetherness has been a feature of the first month of the season and Merteacker says its influence cannot be underestimated.

"We try to get everything out of one individual but as well as a team, so it is up to us to give ourselves the confidence, to give every player a good feeling and to be part of that special team," he said.

"We have to compete every three or four days and that is what we want. It was a long [road] for us to compete in the Champions League [this season]."

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