Per Mertesacker: Returning players made the difference for Arsenal

Per Mertesacker felt that Arsenal’s returning players made the difference as the Gunners kept their top-four bid on track with victory at Hull City.

Lukas Podolski’s double added to Aaron Ramsey’s opener to hand the north London side a comfortable 3-0 win at the KC Stadium and keep them in fourth place in the table.

When you have your whole squad together for as long as possible, that can make a difference

Per Mertesacker

And defender Mertesacker says that the visitors were back to their attacking best after Ramsey and Mesut Ozil returned to the starting line-up.

“We need these moments where you can see we’ve got great players and some great finishers with Lukas Podolski on the scoresheet and Aaron Ramsey back on track, Mesut back on track,” said Mertesacker.

“All these players could make a difference. When you have your whole squad together for as long as possible, that can make a difference.

“We suffered a bit in the second part of the season but now everyone is… coming back to full fitness. We’ve had some long-term injuries and it’s good to have them all back.”