Arsenal: Mikel Merino reveals 'everything is starting to click' as he vows to have creative impact for Gunners
Arsenal: Mikel Merino reveals 'everything is starting to click' as he vows to have creative impact for Gunners
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Mikel Merino believes “everything is starting to click” for him at Arsenal and he is ready to show how he is more than a ‘duel monster’. Merino signed for Arsenal in the summer from Real Sociedad as part of a deal that could eventually be worth over £30million.
The midfielder arrived with a different reputation to Spanish players who have graced the Premier League in the past, such as playmakers Cesc Fabregas and David Silva. Merino won more duels than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues last season, while he also ranked first in La Liga for tackles in the opposition third.
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The 28-year-old has lived up to that reputation at Arsenal and he is second in the Premier League for duels this season - but Merino insists there is a creative side to his game. “I might be big and strong, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the other qualities,” he says.
“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.”.
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