When he signed for Arsenal in the summer, even Mikel Merino could not have dreamt he would enjoy an afternoon like this. Thrown on as an emergency striker due to Arsenal’s injury crisis, Merino scored twice in the final minutes to secure a vital win at Leicester. Before that, the Gunners had been flat and not looked like a team who had just returned from a warm-weather training camp in Dubai. Other than Ethan Nwaneri twice hitting the woodwork, they created very little and this game felt destined to finish goalless.
Merino ensured that was not the case, though, and Arsenal have now cut Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League - for 24 hours at least - to four points. The Arsenal fans serenaded Merino at the full-time whistle, singing his name continuously and this will comfortably go down as his best day in an Arsenal shirt. The Spaniard has so far failed to hit the heights expected of him after joining Arsenal in the summer from Real Sociedad for around £30million.
Perhaps a run upfront could spark him into life and, given the Gunners’ injury issues, Merino should get plenty more chances. Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are out for the rest of the season, meaning there is now no recognised striker in the squad. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli also have hamstring injuries and will not be back until next month, at the earliest, meaning Arsenal have just three fit forwards in Nwaneri, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling.
All three of them started at Leicester, but with contrasting fortunes. Nwaneri was bright, perhaps Arsenal’s best player until Merino’s heroics, and twice the woodwork denied him. Trossard was solid as a false nine, however he dramatically improved when moved out wide and setup Merino’s second goal with a great cross. Sterling, however, had an afternoon to forget. The 30-year-old could not make an impact. Too often in the first half he was caught offside, while on other occasions he could not beat his opposite man.
Taken off with just over 20 minutes to go, Arteta decided to throw on Merino and it was from there that the game changed. The Spaniard excelled as an emergency striker in this brief cameo and took advantage of a weak Leicester defence, which is surely destined for the drop. The first goal came, unsurprisingly, after bright play from Nwaneri. The 17-year-old found space in the box and his cross was headed home by Merino.
That came with nine minutes to go and it sucked what little life there was in Leicester. The Foxes had sat deep all game and tried to catch Arsenal on the break. They came close moments before Merino’s opener, with Myles Lewis-Skelly making a vital touch to stop Bobby De Cordova-Reid scoring. Arsenal survived that scare and, six minutes after his first goal, Merino had another. This time, the finish was even better. The Spaniard finished off a slick counter by cooly slotting the ball home at the back post.
