Super Eagles defender Oluwasemilogo Ajayi has explained how German legend Per Mertesacker gave him some valuable advice during his time with Arsenal.

Ajayi started his career with Charlton Athletics but caught the eye of Premier League team Arsenal and joined the Gunners Academy on a two-year deal after impressing as a trialist with the club in September 2013.

Ajayi worked the Gunners for four years but failed to make any official appearance for the club before he joined Rotherham in 2017 after an initial loan spell.

Now with West Bromwich Albion, Ajayi admitted that he was taught the art of defending from his days at Arsenal, the 26-year-old singled out former captain Per Mertesacker as the person who really helped him master the art.

” I learned a lot while I was there so I always look back on the two years.

“Training with these guys every day was great because I could go up against some of the best players in the country and around the world.”

“Per Mertesacker took a lot of time out to teach me the art of defending and give me some wisdom that he’s picked along the way and shared with me, and I was really grateful for that.

Ajayi added that he has no regret over not making an official appearance for the four-time English champions.

“I did hope to one day break into the first team but everyone’s path is different, sometimes you have to take two steps back to take three steps forward.

“The things that I learned while I was there will serve me for the rest of my career,” Ajayi told Super Eagles media team.