Per Mertesacker believes Arsene Wenger has the "power" to continue in management after departing the Arsenal job in the summer.
Wenger leaves the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season after announcing on Friday that he will bring down the curtain on a 21-year reign.
It remains to be seen whether the 68-year-old will choose to retire or work elsewhere -- although he said last year, when it was unclear if he would remain at Arsenal, that he would want to stay in the game.
Wenger said after Sunday's 4-1 win over West Ham that he is "not tired," and club captain Mertesacker feels he has enough left in the tank to continue his career beyond Arsenal.
"We were surprised, first of all, and then emotional and sad," Mertesacker said of Wenger's announcement.
"You can feel that he has got a lot left in him in terms of the power he gave to the team.
"He has power in himself. He is ready to step up and stand in front of the media every single time we cannot produce a performance."
Mertesacker wants to achieve Europa League success to end Wenger's reign with both silverware and a return to the Champions League.
"The message he gave to the team was that we want to win every single game and leave in style," he said.
"We, as players, gave immediate feedback that we feel the responsibility to fight for him every time we step on the field.
"We had an atmosphere that 'we want to do it for you to send you off in the best possible way.'
"It is not about a single person -- this club is built on a lot of people who worked here for a long time and he was one of those.
"His story is unique, so we want to give him the best possible send-off because, in one way, we are responsible for the situation as well."
With a semifinal against Atletico Madrid on the horizon, Mertesacker was asked whether winning the Europa League in Lyon would be the perfect send-off and said: "Yes, but we have to respect Atletico.
"They have reached Champions League finals in recent years so we need to respect especially the home game on Thursday. I would love not to concede in that game to put ourselves in the best possible position.
"We have not been that successful over the past couple of years. We won trophies, we won the FA Cup, but in terms of achieving Champions League football every season we have not done it.
"In terms of top-four finishes, we are not able to achieve it this season. We have been out-performed by other teams and you have to admit that.
"There are a lot of people responsible, not only the manager. It has not sunk in enough to say we are guilty, but we are, as well, responsible for the situation."