Per Mertesacker: 'Arsenal must handle Marouane Fellaini threat'

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has claimed that handling the threat posed by Marouane Fellaini will be key when they visit Manchester United at the weekend.

The Gunners ended a nine-year wait for a victory at Old Trafford when Danny Welbeck scored the winner in March's FA Cup quarter-final.

Francis Coquelin played an important role in keeping Fellaini quiet on that night, and Mertesacker believes that the pressure is on his teammate to produce a similar performance.

"Francis did really well last time. The most important are the duels in midfield, around Fellaini. That is a major part of their game," the German told the Daily Star.

"We need to try to control this. It's not going to be easy. They obviously want to keep the ball as much as possible.

"Can we restrict it? Can we get the ball in their half and break? That is what we did last time and we did really well."

Arsenal currently sit in third place, two points ahead of United.