Arsenal were lucky to finish second last season says Per Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker claims Arsenal were lucky to finish second in the 2015/16 Premier League season. He admitted it was a miracle for his side to be the runners-up to Leicester City, who won the title comfortably with a 10-point gap.

The Frenchman saw his side beat arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the previous campaign for the second spot. The two teams were separated by a point for the second and the third place, but Mauricio Pochettino's side suffered a defeat to Newcastle United in the last match of the season.

Meanwhile, Manchester United, Chelseaand Manchester City struggled all through last season, and the German international claims Leicester took advantage of this, which Arsenal were unable to do. All three clubs have got new managers this summer and have already strengthened their squad for the upcoming campaign.

Wenger's major signing so far has been the acquisition of Granit Xhaka, who arrived at the Emirates from Borussia Monchengladbach. Mertesacker believes it will be difficult for the Emirates club in landing their summer targets, especially with rivals completing the majority of their business.

"The way last season went, we were quite lucky to finish second. We turned things around at the end but it was kind of a miracle we finished runners-up," Mertesacker told The Sun.

"What really disappointed us was that Leicester were able to take advantage of all the other big teams suffering and we couldn't do the same. Of course, those big clubs will be stronger this time. That's what I expect as they'll start the season with a lot of new players.

"A lot of transfer business has already been done and it won't be easy for us this time, especially with all the signings going to the other clubs. So we also need to be stronger and I am looking forward to seeing how well we compete for the title with not a lot of signings and a lot of young players," he added.