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Per Mertesacker reveals Arsene Wenger masterplan to fire Arsenal to Premier League glory
HE MAY be known as The Professor, but Arsene Wenger's latest masterplan is hardly rocket science.
Per Mertesacker wants Arsenal to give fellow German Mesut Ozil as much of the ball as possible
Defender Per Mertesacker has revealed the simple tactic that has fired the Gunners' title challenge: give the ball to Mesut Ozil as often as possible and see what happens.
As Monday night's 2-1 win over title rivals Manchester City showed, the ploy is working like a dream.
The German playmaker is in the form of his life. His 14th and 15th assists of the season provided first-half goals for Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud as Arsenal registered a hugely significant victory at a crucial stage of the season.
"We are delighted with the win. We had to dig in [on Monday], especially in the last 20 or 30 minutes because we didn't score the third. At the end it was a bit hectic, but we went over the line.
"But we haven't proved anything yet and we haven't been so consistent that we can talk about anything.
"We go game by game. We concentrate on having a game plan and trying to implement it. That has been our strength so far against the big teams and it makes us stronger as a unit.
"We face the next challenge on Boxing Day and this is obviously a very busy time. But we have shown strength, and the depth of the squad is vital at the minute."