Arsenal had two big concerns about summer signing Mikel Merino
Arsenal had two big concerns about summer signing Mikel Merino
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Arsenal sanctioned the signing of Mikel Merino despite harbouring two big concerns about the Spain international. The 28-year-old has endured a difficult start to his Gunners career and has struggled to find a settled place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.
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Merino arrived with a measure of Premier League experience having previously played for Newcastle but his hopes of making an instant impact were scuppered in his very first training session. After a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes, Merino was forced to miss six matches with a shoulder injury.
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Signed with the intention of filling the left eight role vacated by Granit Xhaka 18 months ago, Merino but he has struggled to adapt to the demands of the role. Arteta has regularly praised a player he fought hard to recruit despite the club reserving reservations, according to The Athletic, over the player’s age and potential resale value.
The likely summer arrival of Merino’s former Sociedad teammate Martin Zubimendi, may well see him enjoy a better second season but for now he must find a way to dovetail with the likes of Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
Up Next. Arsenal are currently seven points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title and are all but out of both domestic cup competitions. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup defeat against Manchester United, Merino said: ‘Nowadays with social media and everything around football, you obviously hear a little bit of what’s happening with the fans. But as players, what we try to do is just lock down that noise.
