Mikel Merino: Merchine

[GoonerJay24]

he is final third player because only useful in final third simple as that

just take a look his assist to saka in final third at bernabeu and all his goals in the box in 2025

so who ever put merino at midfield drop deeper a lot to pick ball and want him create something then he is dumbest people in this world football

merino can easily scored 13 goals in one season at premier league even as supersub, just dont put him at midfield

i think 442 with him and gyokeres will work just like arteta did in last 20 minutes against newcastle

I disagree. Go back and watch our games against Forest and Olympiacos; he contributed a lot in the build-up and helped us play through the centre.

Obviously, Merino isn't a or dominant midfielder; but can contribute to the interplay in midfield. He’s not just effective in the final third.

 

[Entropics]

Both goals were headers, that's bad news for us.

Back to cross and Inshallah

 

[Jasard]

He just bought himself another month of automatic starts for Arteta

 

[MartiSaka]

Say it again, best striker in the squad

 

[ash_rasul]

It wasn't even just the 2 goals, he also laid on 5 key passes and created 2 big chances. Also won a penalty. End product machine!

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Both goals were headers, that's bad news for us.

Back to cross and Inshallah

It's his best ability imo he one of best I've seen last few months its not only powerful but the accuracy is top too. It's bad news for us because ode injuries mean Merino will start away games

 

[ArsenalInMyHeart]

It's his best ability imo he one of best I've seen last few months its not only powerful but the accuracy is top too. It's bad news for us because ode injuries mean Merino will start away games

Rice-Merino wont work... Just one of them ...

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Rice-Merino wont work... Just one of them ...

We all know that apart from Arteta. We'll see against Fulham if he put eze as 10

 

[gunner1]

elite header even he scored against germany in semi final euro

He chose to head the ball into an empty net

 

[Gooner Zig]

If you ask Merino to do mostly midfielder things, he's not very good. If you play him as Spain do, almost like a second striker; then you unlock a deadly player that just makes things happen and score goals. It helps that he has Pedri and Zubi in MF.

I just don't think you can recreate that at Arsenal with Rice/Zubi. To me it's clear either or between Rice and Merino, not both.

 

[Iwobeast]

Is he one of the best headers in the game? Some sensational headers he has scored in big games

 

[Clrnc]

Is he one of the best headers in the game? Some sensational headers he has scored in big games

People laughed when I said he's the top 3 headers in terms of technique and timing that I have seen in the game. I'm really not kidding, he's that good.

 

[Wright_I_am]

Merino to me is a super sub, whether he comes on to play as a striker or a midfielder. He's got a nose for goal, but an odd fit in the starting 11. Not really a striker and not better than Rice to play over him in midfield.

 

[UpTheGunnerz]

He was lowkey goated, Merino?

 

[Clrnc]

By the way, really poor from Spain not to let Merino complete his hattrick after he won the pen.

Kinda insane that since he joined us, he has scored 19 goals from club and country.

Before that, he only had 29 in his entire career in the top flight and country.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Elite elite elite.

Riquelme/Tim Cahill hybrid.

 

[ash_rasul]

By the way, really poor from Spain not to let Merino complete his hattrick after he won the pen.

Kinda insane that since he joined us, he has scored 19 goals from club and country.

Before that, he only had 29 in his entire career in the top flight and country.

Merino strikes me as the kind of guy who would hand the ball instead to a player who has worked hard without getting on the scoresheet.

He ain't no Gyok!

 

[GunnerBP]

It really is incredible how much Merino has improved since he joined us, and it is clearly down to our coaching.

For his entire career before he joined us, he was viewed as a solid, unspectacular midfielder who could win a lot of duels. His quality in the final third had never been that big of a deal, but now he's a goal scoring machine for club and country. Obviously, de la Fuente has played a big role in this process too, but a lot of the tanks I think is down to our coaching.

Ironically, you can see a similar progression with Declan Rice. The assumption was that he was going to play DM, but it soon became clear to the coaching staff that he had a lot of untapped attacking potential. Rice is now a set piece expert and scores way more goals than he did for West Ham.

It honestly is nuts that we have Rice and Merino competing for the same position this season, and I think both of them can still get even better.

 

[Thrice]

It really is incredible how much Merino has improved since he joined us, and it is clearly down to our coaching.

For his entire career before he joined us, he was viewed as a solid, unspectacular midfielder who could win a lot of duels. His quality in the final third had never been that big of a deal, but now he's a goal scoring machine for club and country. Obviously, de la Fuente has played a big role in this process too, but a lot of the tanks I think is down to our coaching.

Ironically, you can see a similar progression with Declan Rice. The assumption was that he was going to play DM, but it soon became clear to the coaching staff that he had a lot of untapped attacking potential. Rice is now a set piece expert and scores way more goals than he did for West Ham.

It honestly is nuts that we have Rice and Merino competing for the same position this season, and I think both of them can still get even better.

Merino is 29 now. I think he is at his peak. We'll probably get a few more good years out of him before his inevitable decline. Similar to Trossard.

 

[GunnerBP]

Merino is 29 now. I think he is at his peak. We'll probably get a few more good years out of him before his inevitable decline. Similar to Trossard.

Age will certainly play a factor, but at 29 he's playing the best football of his career. If he can keep that up and continue to improve facets of his game for the rest of this season and into next season, it will be really helpful for us.