New Arsenal signing Per Mertesacker revealed that he always wanted to play for the Gunners after he purchased an Arsenal shirt when he was younger.

Speaking from the Germany national side’s training camp in Dusseldorf last week, the 26-year old started by confessing that he wasn’t “too delighted” with what he saw last week when the Gunners went down by eight goals to two at Old Trafford against Manchester United, a game in which Arsene Wenger’s men were humiliated by the Red Devils.

On supporting the Gunners as a child, the 6′6 centre back told reporters about when he travelled to England with his brother and aunt and left the country with an Arsenal shirt and how since then he always wanted to be an official member of the Club.

On how the transfer unfolded, Mertesacker concluded by saying that the Gunners have been watching his progress for a long time but that they only confirmed the move from Werder Bremen on the last hours of the last day of the summer transfer window with the German confessing it is a dream to finally be a Gunner.

On joining Arsenal, the 26-year old said:

I watched [the Manchester United defeat] and I wasn’t too delighted. When I was young and visited England with my auntie, as somebody who was football crazy, I simply had to come back with a shirt.

I can’t remember why, but I came back with an Arsenal shirt and my brother had a Manchester United one.

This affinity has grown over more than 10 years and now the loop closes because I am delighted to finally get to play at a team I always supported and where I always wanted to appear eventually.

I think Arsenal had been watching me for a while and had intended to sign me for a while. It was a strange situation for me because it was not clear for a long time what would happen and it dragged out to the very end.

After the medical in London [on Tuesday], it took until late on deadline day and I was unsure it would work out, but then I was delighted in the end. It is a dream come true.