Per Mertesacker explains how Mikel Arteta helped influence Arsene Wenger's decision to appoint him as academy manager: "When Mikel left the club, I think Arsene actually wanted to keep him but he made a promise to Pep, Mikel said to Arsene, 'I think there's another one there, who thinks similarly to myself.' "That was a year before my playing contract ended, so he started that conversation a year [earlier], together with Ivan Gazidis and he asked me if I wanted to stay… "I said yes and three wee