Mikel Merino is putting a positive spin on his injury-hit start at Arsenal, claiming his assimilation is now going well and there’s a chance for him to hit his stride in the second half of the season.
The Gunners had to work hard to finalise a deal for the Spain international late in the transfer window, heightening anticipation about his potential impact on the midfield. Unfortunately, a serious shoulder injury in his first training session, coupled with a lack of pre-season preparation, has slowed the 28-year-old’s progress.
As a result, supporters remain divided on whether he’s the right fit for the team, especially as some had hoped to recruit a more creative option.
Not deaf to the discussions on the terraces, Merino insists he has plenty to offer, even if his skillset doesn’t match those associated with compatriots who’ve previously thrived in the Premier League.
“I might be big and strong, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the other qualities,” he told the Evening Standard.
“Obviously, I’m not a David Silva style of player. But all those pass-first mentality, pass and move, keep the ball, don’t feel the pressure when you have a player on your back – I think those are things that I have in my game.
“It’s about just trying to develop it. But obviously, I’m not going to be the player who moves in the pocket like David Silva did or moves in the pocket like [Andres] Iniesta did. I’m a different kind of player. But yeah, I also have the same mentality as they had.”
To be fair to Merino, he’s not the first to need time to adapt to Mikel Arteta’s demands. Both Kai Havertz and Declan Rice have admitted how challenging it was to grasp the tactical nuances thrown at them by the Spaniard, and they too took time to hit their stride.
“I think everything is starting to click for me. I’m starting to finally understand everything perfectly,” said Merino.
“I know the rhythms in the team. I know the rhythms in the training sessions. I’m starting to build a relationship with everyone at a deeper level, which needs time. I think this is the right place for me.
“This is a club where you have huge pressure every single game. But as we like to say, pressure is a privilege. If you have pressure, it means that you are fighting for the huge things.
“When I came back, I didn’t have a proper pre-season to prepare my legs, to prepare my body, my lungs to this pacey league.
“But I think right now I’m reaching my best level in terms of physicality. And yeah, we’ll see in the future. Maybe what was a bad thing becomes a good one because at the end of the season, I’m the fresher one. Who knows?”
Merino didn’t feature during Tuesday’s defeat to former club Newcastle United, which makes you wonder whether he was being held back for Sunday’s FA Cup third-round clash with Manchester United. It would be a great opportunity for him to win over the fans.
The only thing I can do as a fan is to be positive. But for how long?
Merino is not the solution to all our problems but he can surely be the key. 2 arrive in the box late and score goals wouldn’t be the worse thing. Let’s go guys. We got 99 problems but United ain’t one! COYG
You’ve been positive for a sentence long, congrats!
Micky the Wool is going to have such a good second half of the season he’ll have to change his name to Micky Cashmere*
*cashmere comes from GOATs
I workshopped on that joke for 45 minutes. What am I doing with my life?
I think he’s had a really difficult start to his Arsenal career, but I think he’s going to be good. There are things he’s doing now that are encouraging, and hopefully he can help to get that left side more integrated. He’s an honest guy and he deserves a bit of patience.
No doubt that he is a good player, but from what we have seen tactically he is not the right player for how Areta wants to play. Right now Merino is not even producing 50% of what Xhaka gave us.
Xhaka also took time to reach there.
Neither is Rice 50% of Xhaka, who always seems to get a pass in articles/ conversations like these, yet who plays the same position as Merino, and plays it more often than Merino (because he is not as good as Partey to take over the 6), and even more concerning, cost 3 times as much as Merino. Someone want to explain that to me?
I think Rice is very insulated from criticism here for some reason. Xhaka in his last season was better in the left 8 role than Rice has been. I think Rice, Merino and Havertz hugely contribute to our lack of creativity.
I agree with you. Partey is a better 6 this year, and Rice isn’t appreciably better than Merino at left 8 at the moment (though his service from corners can’t be overlooked). I think the consensus is Rice has got a higher ceiling and advanced metrics may say something more also. But your point is still a good one.
This, honestly, could be an interesting conversation. Even though I feel it was already tackled several times by Blogs and Tim in their columns.
Xhaka ratings rise the longer it is since he played for us. I guess Rice was expected to play 6, because noone could have expected Partey to be ffit for so long.
I agree.
My point is that I felt that Rice isn’t only a Partey replacement, but an upgrade as well. With Partey being fit, Rice haven’t made the 6 position his own… yet (?)
That being said, I understand we had a vacancy at the left 8 position (and it made much more sense to play Rice there instead of Partey) and it kinda keeps on going since Merino hasn’t really been up to speed yet due to injury.
No, you are most certainly not David Silva…
But can still be a solid player…
Anyone could see Merino looked heavy, top shape is essential for top performances…im excited
I don’t think he was ever brought to be a starter and this season’s dream champions league final midfield trio is Partey Rice Odegaard. He’s an adequate squad player but he’s. It quite shining like he could due to a number of factors.
Good luck to him
I do not remember Rice having a slow start. To me, it just didn’t happen.
Rice admitted to being somewhat baffled by Arteta’s attention to detail and tactics in the early months. I’m sure Merino has had that also, plus the nasty shoulder injury and missed games.
He is the ideal player vs Amorim.
Together with MLS, perhaps we can experiment in building up on the left side and be less reliant on buildup patterns through the right/Saka.
I think MLS and Merino have the unpressable quality about them and they pass and move really well. The more time they start together the better.
Our issue is slow buildup play. Part because of how well opponent block our passing lanes.
But I really love MLS’s quality for the one touch and go. He is so mature in this. With Merino’s accuracy we could find Martinelli in space on the left earlier.
In this way we can take advantage of trans preparing to block our right side and bait them into following us deeper towards MLS
Im looking forward to time when, as with Xhaka, everyone pretends they never doubted him.
I like Merino and think he will come good for us. But I said at the time that we were letting Xhaka go far too early. At the level he was playing, he was good for at least two seasons more. People will point to the fact that he wanted a move, but that’s where the club should have offered him a big pay day. Money talks. We’ve missed his influence in that forward 8 position, no doubt about it. You can only wonder what a midfield three of Rice, Xhaka and Odegaard would have been like. Fucking awesome, that’s… Read more »
I think he was a good aqusistion. An alternative to Partey who, let’s face it, none of us thought would play much this season due to his history of injuries. The problem is that we also recruited another left back but didn’t buy a winger, striker or creative mid. Brutal week for a squad that is stretched thin.
Merino style of play is not good for Arsenal