Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has described his side's second-place finish last season as "a miracle".

The Gunners looked set for a successive third-place finish on the final day of the season until a Tottenham Hotspur slip-up allowed them to edge ahead and become runners-up to Leicester City.

The result preserved Arsene Wenger's 20-year record of finishing above Arsenal's North London rivals, although they still trailed the champions by 10 points in the final standings.

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

"That will be a big motivation next season - to keep up with all those good teams who finished behind us. 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."

Arsenal have so far signed three players this summer - £30m midfielder Granit Xhaka, Bolton Wanderers defender Rob Holding and young Japanese striker Takuma Asano.