Per Mertesacker admits Arsenal finishing second last season was a 'miracle' and Arsene Wenger needs to strengthen
- Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last term behind Leicester
- Captain Per Mertesacker admits the Gunners were lucky to finish there
- He says Arsene Wenger has to be bold if Arsenal are to be competitive
- Click here to read Sportsmail's coverage of Arsenal over the summer
Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker has admitted for the first time that he and his team-mates were lucky to finish second in the Premier League last season.
The Gunners gazumped north London rivals Tottenham on the last game of the season and only one point separated them from second and third place.
Mertesacker, who has been a major influence in the dressing room at the Emirates since he joined in 2011, believes his side were fortunate to find themselves behind champions Leicester City.
Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker admits his side were lucky to finish second in the Premier League last year
Arsene Wenger's side finished 10 points behind champions Leicester and just a point ahead of Tottenham
The Gunners will be hoping to go one better than last season after finishing behind champions Leicester
'The way last season went, we were quite lucky to finish,' he told The Sun. 'We turned things around at the end but it was kind of a miracle we finished runners-up.
'What really disappointed us was that Leicester were able to take advantage of all the other big teams suffering and we couldn't do the same.'
The central defender points also to other clubs bolstering their squads ahead of the new season.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have already strengthened with a number of key players while Arsenal have made only one high profile signing with Granit Xhaka joining for £38.5million from Borussia Monchengladbach.
He is aware that the Gunners could struggle to finish inside the top four - something that hasn't happened since the 1995-96 season under the stewardship of Bruce Rioch.
'That will be a big motivation next season - to keep up with all those good teams who finished behind us,' he added.
The 31-year-old says he was left 'disappointed' because of his side's inability to make a strong title challenge
He insists that there is huge motivation for the Gunners to make a strong bid for the title next season
'Of course, those big clubs will be stronger this time. That's what I expect as they'll start the season with a lot of new players.
'A lot of transfer business has already been done and it won't be easy for us this time, especially with all the signings going to the other clubs.
'So we also need to be stronger and I am looking forward to seeing how well we compete for the title with not a lot of signings and a lot of young players.'
Most watched Sport videos
- Man United Women walk the steps to collect their FA Cup medals
- Valentine Holmes botches simple try as Cowboys suffer two-point defeat
- Caitlin Clark and teammates catch first-ever WNBA charter flight
- Man United Women's trophy lift after 4-0 FA Cup final win
- Ten Hag says missing out on European football 'hugely damaging'
- Arsenal fans MOCK Man United's leaking roof as they celebrate win
- Man United celebrate their 3rd goal in front of their fans
- Usyk opens up on his father and sends a final message to Fury
- Tyson Fury's dad John bloodied after clash with Usyk's team
- The moment John Fury headbutts a member of Usyk's team
- Man United women celebrate with fans after FA Cup win
- Gareth Southgate addresses Manchester United speculation