Adrian Clarke analyses the impact that summer signing Mikel Merino could make in the Premier League this season.
Player analysis - Mikel Merino (Arsenal)
Mikel Merino has belatedly given Mikel Arteta another option in midfield ahead of Saturday's home match against Southampton.
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A UEFA EURO 2024 winner with Spain, Merino was signed from Real Sociedad in August, as Arteta continued to upgrade his squad in a bid to go one better in the title race this season.
However, in his very first training session, the 28-year-old collided with new team-mate Gabriel Magalhaes and sustained a shoulder injury that ruled him out of action until this week.
Merino's agonising wait for his Arsenal debut ended at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night when he came on as a 64th-minute substitute, replacing Thomas Partey, and helped his new club to see out their 2-0 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
UEFA stats show Merino completed 88 per cent of his passes, won two out of three tackles and recovered the ball three times after slotting into midfield alongside Declan Rice.
"We believe he was the player that could help us in that phase [of the match]," said Arteta in his post-match press conference. "I think he’s done really well."
A delayed Premier League debut is now on the cards against Southampton.
How Merino can improve Arsenal
Arteta’s vision of constructing a technically brilliant side who can also physically dominate opponents has been further boosted by the signing of Merino.
Like many of his new team-mates, the 6ft 2in Spain international marries those qualities excellently.
The former Real Sociedad man is able to play as a left-sided box-to-box midfielder or in a more defensive role, and will provide Arteta with combativeness, quality and tactical variety.
A second chance in the Premier League
During the 2017/18 season, Merino featured for Newcastle United under Rafael Benitez, on loan from Borussia Dortmund.
It was not a spell that lives long in the memory, but when you look back at his defensive numbers from that campaign, it is remarkable he made only 24 Premier League appearances, and just 14 starts, before going back to Dortmund and then being sold to Real Sociedad.
Compared with other Premier League midfielders who made a minimum of 10 starts that season, a 21-year-old Merino ranked inside the top 10 in many categories.
Merino rank among PL midfielders 2017/18*
| Per 90 | PL rank | |
| Duels won | 10.12 | 1st |
| Tackles won | 2.68 | 4th |
| Poss. won | 9.31 | 5th |
| Tackles | 3.75 | 6th |
| Aerial duels won | 2.61 | 8th |
| Interceptions | 2.28 | 8th |
*Min 10 PL starts
In a sign of things to come, Merino was ranked first for duels won per 90 minutes among midfielders in the 2017/18 Premier League, with 10.12.
That figure is only just shy of the 11.8 per 90 he won last season for Real Sociedad, giving him the best tally among players across Europe’s top five leagues.
It is a primary reason why Arteta wanted to recruit a player who has been labelled a “duel monster”.
Duels won in Europe's top five leagues 2023/24
| Player | Club | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Mikel Merino | Real Sociedad | 326 |
| Bruno Guimaraes | Newcastle | 286 |
| Bernardo | Bochum | 285 |
Starring at the Euros
Merino only played a bit-part role for Spain at Euro 2024, making six of his seven outings as a substitute.
The 28-year-old’s highlight was a majestic 119th-minute towering header that sent his country into the semi-final at Germany’s expense.
15 things you need to know about Mikel Merino
Outside of that major contribution, Merino impressed with his sound game management late on in matches.
His aerial prowess also stood out, as he won nine of 14 duels, and by the end of the tournament team-mates Fabian Ruiz and Rodri were the only players to have regained possession more frequently per 90 minutes.
What are Merino’s key strengths?
The Spaniard won more aerial duels than any other midfielder across Europe’s top five leagues last season, with 168.
He is excellent at timing his jumps to win flick-ons, so Arsenal will be eager to pick up any second balls he creates.
Merino will also be a huge asset at set-pieces, an area of existing strength for Arteta's side.
As shown in this map below, he won headers inside both attacking and defensive penalty areas on many occasions for Real Sociedad.
Whether it is defending as a man-marker or attacking crosses sent into the area at the other end of the pitch, Merino’s power in the air will be a serious asset.
He scored three times from headers in all competitions for Real Sociedad last season.
Outside of that, when you compare Merino’s key off-the-ball metrics with Arsenal’s midfielders last season, his ability to regain possession stands out.
His aggression and physical presence will make the Gunners even tougher to play against.
Merino v Arsenal midfielders 2023/24
| Merino | Rice | Jorginho | Partey | |
| Minutes | 2,485 | 3,230 | 919 | 788 |
| Duels won/90 | 11.8 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.1 |
| Aerial duels won/90 | 6.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Aerial success | 60.4% | 45.9% | 50.0% | 46.7% |
| Tackles won/90 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| Poss. won/90 | 7.1 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 6.4 |
Where will he fit at Arsenal?
With 32-year-old Jorginho and 31-year-old Partey both the wrong side of 30, and Mohamed Elneny, Emile Smith Rowe and Sambi Lokonga no longer available to him, Arteta needed to strengthen his central midfield.
Merino is a multi-faceted talent who can slot in as a defensive midfielder or in a slightly more advanced spot on the left side.
In this regard he is very similar to Rice, who can also flit seamlessly between both of those positions.
Merino will provide terrific cover for the England international, and when they start together we may see the pair interchange between those roles from a loose double-pivot base.
When Merino pushes forward Rice could sit, and vice-versa, with captain Martin Odegaard - a former team-mate of Merino’s at Real Sociedad - playing as a right-of-centre No 10 when he returns from injury.
These touch maps from Opta last season highlight how like-minded Merino and Rice are in a positional sense.
Strengthening title challenge
This Arsenal side now have so many tall, skilful and tactically bright players, and Merino’s arrival only adds to their class in this department.
His 77.3 per cent pass accuracy in open play will need to improve, as he is way behind Rice, Jorginho and Partey (all around 90 per cent last season) in terms of accurate distribution.
However, the Spaniard’s ball-winning qualities, tactical nous and strength in both boxes is sure to be of major benefit to Arteta as he looks to win a first Premier League title.
In Arsenal’s most difficult fixtures, it is easy to see a slightly more pragmatic midfield unit of Rice, Merino and Odegaard named in the starting XI.
Alternatively, in moments where the Arsenal manager needs to tighten up defensively in the middle third, or disrupt rivals with a more direct approach, Merino will be a fabulous option from the bench.
A great fit for his new club, it feels as if Merino is ready to make a more long-lasting impact during his second stint in the Premier League.
