The right-back was dismissed for two yellow cards and the Germany international admits that his dismissal made up for the award of the Foxes' spot-kick in the first-half
Per Mertesacker admits that Arsenal were lucky Leicester City defender
Danny Simpson was sent off during the Gunners' 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners came from behind to record a vital victory in the title race, with goals from Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck cancelling out Jamie Vardy's controversial first-half penalty.
Simpson was sent off for two yellow cards in the second-half and Mertesacker feels that the right-back's dismissal made up for the award of the Foxes' spot-kick.
"They were maybe a bit lucky with the penalty but if there is contact then it is a penalty. On the second occasion when they got a player sent off, we might have been a bit lucky," Mertesacker said.
"That is the game. We tried to stick to our game and not be influenced by the referee's decision. That is what we tried to do the whole game and I think it makes a difference in the end.
"If you think too much about situations then you will lose yourself and we kept going and that is why we won today."
Welbeck's injury-time header moved Arsenal to within two points of Claudio Ranieri's league leaders, and Mertesacker has expressed his delight with the former Manchester United forward's late impact.
"I said to the lads to keep believing, keep going and we need to put pressure on them, but that is a breathtaking finish from Danny Welbeck," he said.
"You see every player can make a difference in this squad and we are happy to have him back. You could see his impact."
Despite leaving it late and benefiting from the fortuitous red card, Mertesacker felt his team's performance was worthy of the three points.
"We played well, especially in the first half defensively. How everyone dropped back and recovered well when we lost the ball was outstanding," the German said.
"We created a lot of chances and we were a bit unlucky with our finishing, we could have got the winner earlier but we will take it. The energy creates such a finish and you could see the fans were absolutely delighted.
"There was a drought in January with the results but we came back strongly against Bournemouth," he added, referring to a 2-0 win at Vitality Stadium last weekend.
"We needed [the win], if you want to challenge for anything in this league you need to win.
"We proved it on the pitch today and when we look at training sessions everyone is focused on what is coming up."
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