The international break is as dreary for football fans as it is for clubs. Supporters missed the regularity and unpredictability that comes with watching their team in action. International football, major tournaments aside, doesn’t have the same pizazz as the domestic or continental game.
The major risk to club teams, however, is the possibility of seeing a player sustain a knock while representing their national team. A number of Premier League sides have all seen key men struck down during the domestic hiatus.
While the likes of Nico O’Reilly, Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Micky van de Ven are expected to make swift returns ahead of the upcoming round of league games, Arsenal have been relatively harder hit than others. Indeed, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis sustained knocks with Norway, Germany and Greece, respectively.
Odegaard at least returned to the Norway side having made a swift recovery. The same can’t be said of Havertz. The Gunners man was forced off in the first half of Germany’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands last month, and immediately returned to London for a scan on a suspected hamstring injury.
Reports at the time suggested that Havertz would sit out the next six weeks of competitive action for the north London side, which is a blow for Mikel Arteta. Havertz has been Arteta’s first-choice frontman this season, and has duly delivered, scoring two goals in the opening five matches.
That said, there is more to Havertz’s game than just goalscoring. His all-round style of play is vital for Arsenal, with the German forward willing to work tirelessly out of possession in order to knit the play together and drag markers out of position. Arteta’s use of wingers in his favoured setup means a striker of Havertz’s skill set is vital.
And it’s for that reason the Arsenal boss should turn to Mikel Merino rather than Viktor Gyokeres to lead the line for the coming weeks. Even if it’s only for a month or so, it’s a long time for the latter to operate as the focal point for this Arsenal side.
Gyokeres didn’t exactly endure a tough debut campaign in the capital. The 28-year-old scored 14 league goals, and added an additional five in the Champions League, as Arsenal pipped Manchester City to a first Premier League title in 22 years. However, Arteta has never been truly sold on the idea of Gyokeres leading the charge.
For the run-in last season, Havertz was again the go-to striker. He started the Champions League final, scoring in the eventual defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. The 27-year-old’s selflessness and notable link-up play worked far better with those in the supporting trio. Gyokeres may work tirelessly off the ball, but he’s more effective as an out-and-out striker rather than a forward willing to bring others into play.
By contrast, Merino is willing to drop deeper in order to link the play in the final third. The Spaniard shares the same positional understanding as Havertz, meaning Arteta wouldn’t need to tinker too much with his game plan by bringing Merino into the side during the former Chelsea man’s spell on the sidelines.
Merino is more comfortable on the ball than Gyokeres, meaning he’d be able to drag defenders out of position, thus opening up space for the wide men to exploit. He doesn’t rely so much on making runs off the shoulder of the last man.
What is vital, though, is that Merino still has this knack for cropping up at the right place at the right time in order to get among the goals. Since the start of last season, his return of 0.89 goal contributions per 90 when starting as the lead striker is the best of all Arsenal players.
By comparison, Havertz ranks second at 0.78, while Gyokeres is averaging 0.49 direct goal involvements per 90 in all competitions over the same period. Not only does Merino offer the same off-the-ball movement that makes for a more mobile Arsenal frontline, he is able to time his box-crashing runs well in order to get among the goals.
While Arteta may be tempted to opt for Gyokeres given his previous demands for an out-and-out number nine, combined with the 28-year-old’s good form for Sweden during the international break - Gyokeres scored four goals across four Nations League outings - Merino suits Arsenal’s attack better than the former Sporting man.
Granted, Gyokeres is a handy option for Arteta to call upon, especially if Arsenal look to go more direct.
With Havertz absent, however, the Gunners boss must instead look to Merino to shoulder the striker burden. Against a resolute Leeds backline this weekend, Merino’s desire to link up with his teammates will help break down the Yorkshire side’s low block better than Gyokeres’ directness, particularly with space in the final third expected to be at a premium.
