“Looking at how he works, I’m very confident of defeating Real Madrid”: Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has named ONE Arsenal player who’s working tirelessly ahead of Real Madrid’s clash
Arsenal have had a lot of injuries to deal with this season, with Mikel Arteta unable to select his strongest starting XI for most of the campaign.
With the business end of the season now in full swing, Arsenal remain without numerous key players.
Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain on the sidelines, while Ben White and Jurrien Timber are doubts.
On a brighter note, Arsenal’s injury crisis up front has eased, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli available once again.
Mikel Merino became an unlikely hero for Arsenal during their crisis up front as he took on the role of striker to great effect.
Indeed, Arteta was jokingly asked by reporters on Friday how he would convince Merino to slot back into midfield once he’s no longer needed up front.
Mikel Arteta says Mikel Merino is a ‘real joy to work with’ at Arsenal
Arteta said he’s “already done that”, noting how Merino played at No. 8 after Leandro Trossard came on last time out.
The Arsenal manager went on to share how the £32million man is like behind the scenes, saying he’s a real “joy to work with” and hailing his character, quality and versatility.
“I already did that (convince him to return to midfield) because I played him as an eight the other day when we brought Leo in, so we discussed that,” Arteta told the Arsenal media team.
“He’s a joy to work with and that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to bring him to the club because he’s so versatile.
“He’s very intelligent and he loves the game and he loves to understand the game and the reason why we have certain players to do what we want them to do.
“Mikel understood immediately, explaining his qualities, what the team needs in that moment and how he can benefit from being in those positions and demanding that the role he can do as a number nine with his qualities, not comparing to anybody else and judge his performances on that basis.
“And since then, I think he’s been really good.”
How Mikel Merino compares to Arsenal teammates and Premier League forwards
Since 15 February, the first game in which Merino played up front, the Spaniard has registered five goals from eight appearances.
Now, Merino boasts a better minutes-per-goal ratio than any of his Arsenal teammates who have been playing in attack.
Indeed, Merino’s tally puts him on par with the likes of Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah in terms of Premier League players’ goal tallies in all competitions since mid-February.
Merino has stepped up in a time of real crisis for Arsenal and is delivering the kind of goal tally that’d be deemed great from an established Premier League striker.
