- 2014 FIFA World Cup winning defender Per Mertesacker was given a heroic send forth by his former teammates
- His teammates from Hannover in '96 faced a selected few managed by Arsene Wenger over the weekend
- He got the surprise of his life when his father came on for him in the 67th minute of the game
Former Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker was celebrated in Germany last weekend by his former teammates after retiring from football in 2018.
The 34-year-old defender made just 10 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners last term due to series of injury.
He last featured for the north Londoners in their 5-0 demolition of Burnley at the Emirates Stadium in the EPL on May 6.
SportBible however report that the German star played his testimonial to finally mark retirement from football.
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Mertesacker led Hannover 96 friends' take on a World XI managed by Arsene Wenger, who was in charge of the defender for the entirety of his stay at the Emirates Stadium.
Claudio Pizarro, Torsten Frings and Kieran Gibbs were the few Mertesacker's former teammates involved in the send-off, which was obviously a 19-goal thriller.
Nicknamed "the BFG", the 2014 FIFA World Cup winning star played for both sides in the game and was on the scores sheet in front of 40,000 fans in attendance.
After playing 67 minutes of the game, he was given a standing ovation as his 67-year old father, Stefan took his place on the pitch.
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And that made him cry uncontrollably as he embraced his old man while making his way to the bench.
"Dear fans, what a send-off," the 34-year old said on the pitch.
"I couldn't have dreamed of playing in front of such an amazing crowd again here in Hannover. Thank you very, very much. It means the world to me that I am able to say goodbye here."
NAIJ.com previously reported that Arsenal captain, Per Mertesacker, has hinted that his illustrious career is coming to an end soon, adding that his body is finished.
The 33-year-old World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
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Source: Naija.ng