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When Arsenal pulled the trigger and signed Mikel Merino for £31million from Real Sociedad in the aftermath of Spain’s Euro 2024 victory, they believed they were landing one of the most complete midfielders in world football.
The Basque arrived at the Emirates in time for the prime years of his career, renowned for his technical quality, intelligence and ability to run the game from the middle of the park.
Arsenal hoped that he would be one of the final pieces of a title-winning jigsaw, but what he was not brought in for was to play as a Premier League centre-forward.
Merino on playing up front for Arsenal
With Merino in possession of such a complete skillset, he is a coach’s dream player and in Mikel Arteta he has a manager ready to think outside of the box.
“The gaffer is special in terms of the way he communicates his ideas, his passion,” reveals Merino to FourFourTwo “It’s been an amazing two seasons here. I’ve learned a lot from Mikel. He’s opened new doors for me in terms of tactics.”
One of those doors has been the occasional switch to centre-forward – a role that Merino had never previously been tasked with. “It happened for the first time in February last year, when we went to Dubai for a little warm weather break,” he recalls. “We had a couple of unfortunate injuries there, and had no other options when we returned.
“I read on social media that I was going to be played as a striker in the next game against Leicester. I was honestly just laughing, like, ‘How can people say this crap?’ I’d never played there and genuinely wasn’t expecting to. But then, before the game, one of the Arsenal coaches came up to me and said, ‘Hey, we’ve come up with this option of you playing up top – it’s not that you’re going to be a striker, you’re going to be like a midfielder but playing furthest forward, so don’t think too much about being a proper striker.’
“That’s how it happened. I came into the game with 20 minutes left, we needed a goal and I scored two. The rest is history.”
What began as necessity increasingly became the norm. “I think I’ve got the characteristics to be a good striker,” he says. “I’m not the quickest to threaten defenders with pace in behind, but I’m smart enough to know where I have to be positioned in the penalty area. It’s about reading the little clues – I judge those quickly and make my move.”
During November and December, he chipped in with two goals and three assists from five Premier League matches up front, before switching back to midfield when Viktor Gyokeres returned to full fitness. He would then be sidelined by a foot injury in late January, requiring surgery.
“When I got injured, it was stressful, because it was such a rare injury that even the specialists were struggling to figure it out,” explains the former Borussia Dortmund man. “I was worried that I’d miss the World Cup. Thankfully, I’ve been feeling much better.”
Merino was able to return to the pitch as a substitute during Arsenal’s title procession at Selhurst Park on the final day of the season, giving him the green light to continue his key role for Spain boss Luis de la Fuente this summer.
During World Cup qualifying, Merino netted six times in six games, including a hat-trick in a 6-0 win in Turkey. “That game felt like every ball I was touching, it was creating something,” he grins. “Even short passes in the middle of the pitch were leading to counter attacks. I guess those moments as a striker at Arsenal have helped me when I’m in and around the box – the art of putting the ball in the back of the net.”
