Arsenal received their sixth red card of the season against Liverpool, pulling clear of Ipswich Town to lead in that department. The culprit this time around was none other than Mikel Merino as he received his marching orders after picking up a yellow from a second bookable offence.
What sparked this article isn’t necessarily the sending off but how he got sent off in the first place. Well, when I put it like that, it is about the sending off, but you do get what I mean! Building out from the back, the ball was played into the Spaniard but a poor touch saw him lose the ball in a dangerous position, what proceeded was a series of tackles that ultimately led to his dismissal.
Merino’s limitations in this Arsenal midfield
That action perfectly depicted his limitations in this Arsenal midfield. For a player as athletic as he is, his rigidity on the ball is a puzzler and this becomes worse when his back is against goal. There are two reasons (IMO) for this, firstly he’s just slow on the ball and lastly he’s seriously one footed. This is why he struggles to turn and progress as well as being able to receive the ball comfortably from a variety of positions and angles.
Is Merino’s future as a utility player?
Now I won’t overly criticize him because he has been immense at times this campaign. As a striker, he has been impressive and played a huge role in our run to the UCL semi-final. In fact the best we’ve seen of him in red and white is at centre-forward which is mind blowing considering he hasn’t featured there prior to the second half of this campaign. This is even confusing when he plays in midfield, he’s a worse player in his preferred position!
With that said, Merino’s future obviously doesn’t belong at centre-forward so where does it actually lie? He’s not getting into the side when Declan Rice is fit and even if the Englishman is absent, Kai Havertz would fit better in his absence, which tells you a lot. The case is the same in defensive midfield or even worse, considering his worst performances have come in that position (on the rare occasions he has been deployed there).
So if he doesn’t belong in either of those two positions, would the best solution be to sell? Well if Arsenal even consider, it would only bring their decision to sign the player into question, especially because he was signed only a year ago. Moreover, they may struggle to find suitors due to his age.
The best and most reasonable answer is to keep him as a utility player. His versatility will prove useful in a season full of injuries and a lot of matches. But that only applies if he comes on as a centre-forward or as an auxiliary attacker!
When he arrived last season, I was certainly expecting to see him feature prominently for years to come, but off the back of what we’ve seen this campaign, that won’t be the case. I hope I’m wrong but I highly doubt it.
Answers to the headline in the comments gooners!
BENJAMIN KENNETH
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Midfield. He’s done exceptionally well considering he’s never player striker before but let’s not get arrogant.
Need 2 forwards at least, with the hopes of letting Jesus go in the summer or in January, depending on his ínjury.
You just don’t like and appreciate Merino, you just can’t see how he has been performing well in an unfamiliar position,red cards are always given whether correct or not they are there to be given, Captain Ode has been performing poorly yet always given time to correct is poor form,Merino hasn’t played that much in is natural position at arsenal so as to cover for the injured strikers and let both Rice and Partey to play in midfield,Merino has no problem and limitations it is just fans like you who don’t understand the game and try to force a different agenda against some players you dislike.
Based on what I’ve watched from him this season, with everyone fit and good new signings coming in he will have to be coming in from the bench as a central midfielder.
I think the club owes a debt of gratitude to Merino, as he has effectively saved the season with his exploits up front after the club was caught short with it’s penny pinching in January.
My concerns with Merino have nothing to do with his general style of play, and certainly not his attitude, it is only to do with his limitations in midfield, which is where we all expected him to play. The problem is that Premier League is a fast league, particularly around the defensive 18 year box, and it is here where his lack of speed and skill stands out like a sore thumb.
He’s a good tackler, he works hard, and has that innate ability to be in the right place at the right time as we saw for Spain with his winning goal, and we saw again at the weekend where everyone else was asleep but he followed the ball and got his goal. He’s a very good player, and maybe being re-united with Zubimendi will help him, but I cannot see a long-term future for him as a CM for Arsenal and he’s not creative enough to play as a CAM. So where does that leave him? Kai isn’t going anywhere and we have to assume that he will at least be the back-up striker next season. So that relegated Merino to 3rd or 4th choice ST or as cover for Rice and I kinda feel like he deserves more than that.
We will see.
Harsh and ,in some aspects, unjustifiable criticism from the author of the article.The versatility of this guy has been a godsend this season, and if he is good enough to feature from the bench for the best international side in Europe, he is good enough to fulfil a similar role for Arsenal.He is not any slower, nor more one footed than Xhaka nor for that matter Odegaard ,but he has displayed real composure and has proved himself to be a good finisher.As a Manager i would be delighted to have him in our squad.
Rice would likely play the left-sided AM role if Zubimendi comes, so Merino should compete with Rice and Odegaard for the attacking midfield role
Merino is also a good false-nine. It’s good to have a decent CF backup like him when Havertz and Jesus are injured or not in-form
I don’t see him in our best starting lineup but he’s a good option to have for rotation and to cover for injuries. I don’t think he has many real weaknesses in his game, it’s just others are better in some important areas and are better suited to specific roles. He is a good finisher, though, and has a great attitude – he’s brave. Very useful player for the squad imo.
At least Merino has shown he can thrive as a utility player . . . Ødegaard hasn’t. Maybe cannot, simply.
Merino is one footed.
Fine.
But not as one footed as Ødegaard and Martinelli with certain other Arsenal players.
What other negative?
Merino is slow.
I agree.
But he makes more forward movements with the ball than the heralded midfield attack general who dodges combat football.
There are players to dispose of before moving Merino debates.
Just by the way . . .
He has shown to be the most potent finisher at the club.
I thought I was the only one wondering if we signed a striker or a midfielder. He’s very slow on the ball and sometimes gets dispossessed easily when playing as a midfielder. Before his sending off there were moments were he had lost the ball easily. He got his goal but he was poor generally and I thought Arteta would sub him but Arteta just did what he does best.
Easy, rotation option. Some games he can start. If Mikel actually makes subs then he’s a great option to throw on