Long-time London "Arsenal" team football player Per Mertesacker has decided to end his career. This season will be the last for the 33-year-old footballer.
The German, who has been playing in the ranks of "Arsenal" since 2011, said goodbye to the fans and the "Emirates" stadium after a 5-0 victory against "Burnley" on Sunday.
The defender appeared on the field 13 minutes before the end of the match and was warmly welcomed.
"It was a very beautiful moment. It's very difficult to describe everything now. It was wonderful how the team performed, and that the coach let me on the pitch for the last time.
"It's great that we were leading 5-0, so I could be warmly welcomed and could enjoy the emotion of stepping onto the field for the last time.
"It's unbelievable how I was welcomed on the first day and what a great way it was to retire as a footballer. It's fantastic and it just shows the class of this club by giving me such a wonderful ending," said P. Mertesacker.
However, the footballer will not move far from "Arsenal" as he will start working at the "Arsenal" team's youth academy after the season.
The German has once won the German Cup with "Werder Bremen", three times the FA Cup, and twice the FA Community Shield with "Arsenal". The defender also became a world champion in 2014.
