The solid defensive play of Mertesacker and fellow defender Laurent Koscilny deserve much of the credit for Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat of Tottenham in Sunday’s North London Derby. Tomas Rosicky put the Gunners ahead in the 2nd minute with a scorcher of a goal and the defensive pair turned aside the efforts of the Spurs to equalize to hang on for three points to keep pace with Liverpool and gain on table-leading Chelsea. Mertesacker and Koscielny finished the match completing 39 passes, 36 clearances, winning 10 headed duels, two tackles and two interceptions.
Source: @Squawka / @LTtheGreat
