English Premier League: Arsene Wenger Set to Bring Per Mertesacker to Arsenal

The news that Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker had left the German national team camp on Monday, where he had been training ahead of a set of European qualifiers, for London to negotiate a transfer with Arsenal FC, can be construed a number of ways.

Yet the most immediate answer one can glean from this development is the beginning of what may become a sea change in the pervading Arsenal philosophy of recent years.

After witnessing Arsene Wenger bumble his way through a post-match press conference after the 8-2 smashing at Old Trafford, it has become evident that something in the way of change has become an absolute necessity.

Mertesacker is the perfect symbol of the change that needs to be implemented in Ashburton Grove.

The 26-year-old central defender has played in two World Cups, and has earned 75 caps for a German side that has established itself as one of the most dominant forces in world football today.

Though he did not feature in Germany's past two European qualifiers (June fixtures against Austria and Azerbaijan), he is in Joachim Low's squad for this next set of games.

At 6'6", he is undoubtedly one of the tallest defenders—and for that matter, players—Wenger has ever recruited to the Emirates.

While offseason speculation linked Arsenal to smaller, quicker center backs, such as Everton's Phil Jagielka or Bolton's Gary Cahill, Wenger saw enough during the United assault to realize that a change in defensive philosophy (which, if you've ever watched Arsenal defend a free kick, may not even exist) must be implemented.

While the high defensive line employed by Arsenal has worked brilliantly (the Champions League victory over Barcelona last season remains the high point), recent central defensive recruits such as Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci—brought in with the expectation that they would use their quickness to their advantage in the high line—have largely disappointed.

Koscielny looked more preoccupied on Sunday with saving his skin from a potential blemish when he went up, rather halfheartedly, against Danny Welbeck. Needless to say, he lost the challenge, and United had opened up their scoring account.

Mertesacker will, in all likelihood, be paired with Thomas Vermaelen in central defense. While the two men are vastly different in terms of physical stature, both are proven competitors, and have reputations for putting their bodies on the line to scrape a result. Mertesacker would have stuck Welbeck on his back, had he been defending in that instance.

It's that kind of steely mentality that has been all too rare in recent seasons, when Arsenal players have been caught jogging back on defense or have seemed more preoccupied with laying an off-side trap than sprinting back on defense.

I wouldn't peg Per as the kind of player who would duck out of the way of an oncoming firecracker from Wayne Rooney.

Now, with former Monaco striker Chu-Young officially on the books and left-back Andre Santos reportedly having flown into London on Monday to complete his own deal, Arsenal look set to make Mertesacker the third addition to the squad in the span of a week.

Rumors are swirling, and will only gain in force tomorrow as the transfer window comes rushing to a close.

Speculation has linked the Gunners with potential moves for Chelsea's Yossi Benayoun and/or Florent Malouda, Fulham's Clint Dempsey and budding Borussia Dortmund superstar Mario Goetze.

Goetze aside, each of these players is a proven professional in his mid-twenties. It's a marked shift in transfer policy from Wenger, who, as recently as this summer, was still championing his recruitment of diaper-dandies such as Alex Chamberlain, Ryo Miyaichi and Joel Campbell (who has failed to get a work permit for this season.)

An infusion of experience is an absolute must at this point, given Arsenal's comportment in their first three Premier League matches, where they have seen four players sent off, and have only managed two goals.

Park Chu-Young captains the South Korean national team, Santos is a proven contributor for Brazil's Selecao and Mertesacker has the aforementioned wealth of experience.

After succumbing to a United squad that had a perfect balance of experience with young talent, it appears Wenger is set to copy that script.

Looking ahead, this flurry of transfer activity may well determine the course of Arsenal's 2011-12 season.

In this 125th anniversary year of the club's founding, where a lavish new wreath has been added to the iconic crest on the Arsenal kits with the message "Forward" embroidered on its underside, Arsenal have done their damnedest to go in the opposite direction.

Finally, it seems, Wenger has realized that he cannot right this ship internally. Outside help must be solicited.

And honestly, that's not such a bad thing.