Arsenal trail Liverpool by eight points but after the Reds dropped points against Aston Villa in midweek, Arteta’s side can now cut that gap to just five ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
With Trossard pushed wide and Merino operating as a makeshift centre forward, the Spaniard bagged two goals that ensured Arsenal remained in the Premier League title race for another week.
Should things go their way and Liverpool suffer defeat on the road in two tough fixtures, Arsenal could end the weekend four points behind the league leaders with a game in hand.
With Kai Havertz joining Gabriel Jesus in being ruled out for the rest of the season, Mikel Arteta was forced to experiment with his side last weekend against Leicester.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are still recovering from hamstring injuries and are not expected to return to mid-March, meaning Arteta’s new-look attack will likely remain in place for a few more weeks.
