At what point will Mikel Merino be viewed as a striker who occasionally plays in midfield rather than a midfielder who fills the front line? His performance in the win over Brentford was just the latest example of him performing the role as if it were a natural.
The 29-year-old has scored or assisted in five of Arsenal’s six starts since returning to the position following an injury to Viktor Gyoceres. Against Brentford, he did both, heading in the opener and then feeding Bukayo Saka for the second goal.
“He was amazing today,” said Mikel Arteta with a bright smile. And he praised his instinctive center forward play that led to the first goal. “The way he scores goals is very smart. His timing, the way he positions himself and the way he executes.”
His total of 14 headed goals since the start of last season is the most by any Premier League player in all competitions.
Mikel Merino headed Arsenal in front after receiving an early cross from Ben White.
All this from a central midfielder who had never played a role before Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring injury last season.
There is learning on the job and there is this. Merino has mastered this position and has the numbers to prove it.
Since the beginning of the year, he has scored an astonishing 21 goals in total for club and country, and has transformed into a goalscoring centre-forward, helping not only Arsenal but also the Spanish national team. Merino emerged as an important spearhead for both sides.
Arsenal could feature Gyocerres and Gabriel Jesus again, with Kai Havertz also close behind. But they will all struggle to keep Merino out. Merino’s values are not limited to his goals. Arteta later said: “He makes the team so much better.”
Since moving to the forefront early last month, Arsenal have scored 15 goals in six games, jumping from an average of 2.1 to 2.5 goals per game, including their best attacking performances of the season against Spurs and Bayern Munich. Merino scored or set up almost half of the total.
Of course, it is different from Gyokeresu in that it does not play the traditional role of number 9.
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Brentford
When he’s not seizing an opportunity in the box, he drops into midfield and switches positions with his teammates to create space to run through and generally confuse opposition defenders.
In four Premier League starts this season, Merino has recorded half the number of touches inside the opposition box Gyoceres averages per 90 minutes, but has almost double the number of touches and passes overall, highlighting how well he weaves them together.
Arteta was also keen to emphasize work outside of possession. Merino has been handling a big workload lately, starting eight games in a row for club and country in a month, but you never thought you’d be watching him on Wednesday.
Mikel Merino’s touch and passing maps highlight his overall impact.
“He passed the ball to Martin (Odegaard) behind him, but Martin didn’t chase the ball. Merino ran 40 meters and chased it to the corner flag,” Arteta said.
“He goes back and gets the ball back. He’s everywhere. He’s got really good momentum at the moment.”
Merino had four tackles in the game. Premier League tracking data shows he has run more than 12km, a total behind only Odegaard. No player has scored more than his 368 concentrated runs.
Mikel Merino celebrates after scoring the first goal of the game.
A tireless pace of work was not uncommon. Not only has Merino provided more goals and assists than any other Arsenal player in his last four Premier League games, he has made a total of 10 tackles, putting him second behind left-back Riccardo Calafiori.
His all-round contribution both off the ball and on the ball sets him apart, and he also possesses another important trait.
“I said this earlier in the press conference: it is his curiosity, his willingness to learn and perhaps his willingness to help the team,” Arteta added.
“He knew from the beginning of the season that we had a big problem. We lost Victor, Kai was out, Gabriel Jesus was out, so we needed a solution and he did really, really well last year.
Arsenal’s Mikel Merino celebrates after taking the lead.
“I think he’s probably taken a step forward this season because he can do more.
“I think the team is really appreciative and enjoying it.”
Arteta believes his success in his role is a lesson for others. It taught him a lesson too. Merino, who had been worried about having too many strikers in the summer, has rescued the Gunners boss from seemingly not having enough.
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Mikel Arteta said he was happy and proud of his players after the 2-0 win.
“I took that class because all summer I was thinking about what would happen to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz if we got the 9. I went crazy because I love them too.
“What are we going to do? How are we going to handle it? And so far we haven’t had any problems because they’ve had injuries.
“So leave the present, leave the moment and deal with situations as they come. That’s it.”
And so did Merino. A replacement striker might be Arsenal’s best option in that position at the moment. Gyoceres, Jesus and Havertz are competing fiercely to return to the team.
