For the final two summers, Mikel Arteta has tried to fill the outlet left by Granit Xhaka with summer time signings who by no means actually tailored to the left central midfield function. And for the second consecutive season, the participant Arteta signed to be the ‘left eight’ has actually proven their worth by transferring to centre-forward within the second half of the season.
The signing of Mikel Merino final summer time was a sign that Arsenal have been not shopping for potential or trying to develop a group slowly into the picture of the supervisor. A Euro 2024 winner, Merino is 28, already has Premier League expertise and appeared to fulfil quite a lot of Arteta’s apparent criterium for this place.
Merino is sturdily constructed, sturdy within the air, has the attributes of a ‘field crasher’ and wins floor duels at a scary price. The ‘left eight’ function beneath Arteta is basically meant to be a reactive, off the ball function. Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe have been performed there final season in sure games- Vieira began at Goodison Park final season since there was little level in making an attempt to play aerially in opposition to Sean Dyche’s group of House Jam type tremendous mutants.
Emile Smith Rowe began within the function at house to Luton and away at Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United, whereas Leandro Trossard began there away at Brentford. For video games in opposition to again fives, Arteta confirmed a desire for a extra technical, on ball presence however, in the principle, the one guys which have actually nailed the place are Granit Xhaka and Declan Rice.
Nevertheless, regardless of being a ‘win now’ signing, Merino didn’t actually get the possibility to become familiar with the left eight function both. Off the again of a summer time match that noticed his Spain facet go all the way in which, Merino was by no means going to learn from a pre-season along with his new group. Final season, we noticed how that impacted David Raya, who didn’t correctly settle into the number one place till Arsenal had a ‘second pre-season’ in Dubai.
On prime of that, a participant who excelled in duels was worn out in coaching by certainly one of Arsenal’s principal duel monsters in Gabriel. By the point he returned, Martin Odegaard was injured and he was enjoying in a really totally different iteration of the Arsenal group. He scored from a setpiece in opposition to Liverpool in October however in any other case, did not impress in November.
He was substituted at half-time away at Preston within the Carabao Cup and was hooked just a few days later at his former membership Newcastle after 60 minutes. One other three days later at Inter, he was substituted on half-time once more after conceding an unlucky / absurd penalty. Within the first half of the FA Cup defeat in opposition to Manchester United in January, he touched the ball simply seven occasions within the first half.
Like others earlier than him, Merino appeared to battle to grip the left eight function. However he did all the time appear to hold penalty space risk and given the left central midfield function, for my part, is just not a build-up function, penalty space risk is a greater perspective to guage efficiency in that place than creativity and total affect.
It’s a low contact function, the place the principal outputs look like urgent, profitable duels and creating again publish risk when Odegaard and Saka work the appropriate nook of the penalty space. Merino was offering that to a passable diploma, even when he wasn’t leaping off the web page.
However particularly as Odegaard got here out of the group and his inventive juices appeared diluted even upon his return, many Arsenal followers pined for a participant that offered a bit of extra fantasy. The season ending damage to Kai Havertz has given Merino the identical alternative Havertz accepted final season to grow to be the group’s point of interest upfront.
I believe that is barely totally different to Havertz as a result of, actually, I doubt we are going to see Merino play upfront once more after this season. After Havertz’s damage, Arteta initially began the primary recreation of the no striker period with Leandro Trossard upfront at Leicester. It didn’t work, Merino got here on, scored twice and the remainder is historical past.
Arsenal have created 11.0 XG within the seven video games since Havertz was injured and that features a 7-1 win at PSV. Throughout 5 Premier League video games in that point they’ve created 7.8 XG. Towards Fulham, they created 2.0XG which was their highest price in that point interval.
In brief, as one would count on, Arsenal look lots much less threatening. Much more impactful than Havertz and Jesus’ absences is the Bukayo Saka formed gap we’ve had within the group since late December (whereas Martinelli missed loads of video games throughout this time interval too). If we have been judging Merino as an costly striker acquisition in a completely match group we would have just a few issues even when he has scored targets.
However we aren’t as a result of that isn’t the situation. Merino has been requested to do a job he has by no means been tasked with earlier than and he has achieved it fairly properly. Even when Arsenal lack a bit of total punch (which, to repeat, has largely been all the way down to Saka’s absence), Merino has 5 targets since transferring upfront. It’s a really respectable complete in a troublesome state of affairs.
Per WhoScored, since approaching as a striker in opposition to Leicester on 15 February, no participant has a greater shot conversion price within the Premier League (36.4% – 10+ photographs). Probably it is a little bit of a ending scorching streak that might be troublesome to keep up but it surely nonetheless makes for spectacular studying.
In adapting to this new actuality, Merino has in all probability moved from a barely underwhelming midfielder signing into one thing of a cult hero. The way by which he has taken to his new activity has earned him cult hero standing. Even his chant, lifted from a really related sounding chorus by Sporting Lisbon followers in Arsenal’s Champions League go to there in November, doesn’t match the normal terrace songbook.
His objective on Tuesday in opposition to Fulham felt fairly uncommon for Arsenal, in that he wasn’t overly deliberate, he took a slash on the ball in a crowded space and was rewarded with a beneficiant deflection. It was a objective borne of the kind of jeopardy we don’t usually see from Arsenal’s very deliberate attacking brushstrokes.
It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how he takes to his extra conventional function once more subsequent season, whether or not being the quantity 9 has taught him something that he can apply as a midfielder. Maybe having a greater understanding of what the striker is requested to do can assist him help the centre-forward subsequent season.
No matter occurred earlier than and no matter occurs subsequent, Merino has, in barely unusual circumstances, grow to be certainly one of Arsenal’s most vital gamers of the season. In actuality, Arteta in all probability ought to have been in a state of affairs the place he was trialling a collection of unconvincing alternate options however as an alternative, Arsenal actually not having a striker hasn’t been as massive a difficulty because it should have been.
