After scoring twice in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Leicester City, the Spaniard Mikel Merino, who had previously played as a midfielder for Arsenal but turned into a striker, is being compared to a cult hero in the Premier League.
Currently, Mikel Arteta’s team does not have a recognized striker on their roster. This is due to the fact that Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring injury during their warm weather training camp in Dubai, which caused him to be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, and Raheem Sterling are the only three senior attackers who started for the Gunners in their Premier League match against Leicester. As a consequence of this, the Gunners only have three senior attackers who are fit and available.
It was a struggle at times, but after struggling in forward areas for extended periods of time, Mikel Arteta replaced the out-of-form Sterling with midfielder Mikel Merino with twenty minutes remaining in the game, and everything changed.
A late brace scored by the Spaniard, who had joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad in the summer for a transfer fee of £28.4 million, was the decisive factor that ensured Arsenal’s title challengers secured a crucial three points.
Merino was compared to Marouane Fellaini, a former midfielder for Everton and Manchester United who was considered to be a player who would frequently be thrown forward in the later stages of games. This comparison was made because Merino made a significant impact on the game.
Here are the responses that fans on social media had to the events that took place at the King Power.
The Fellaini arc, according to one of them: “Mikel Merino.” I told you all,” another person commented, while another said, “Mikel Merino is Arsenal’s very own Marouane Fellaini.” Fellaini represents David Moyes. “Mikel Arteta, Merino,” we say.
A third person wrote, “Merino has the potential to end up being our Fellaini.” BTW, I’m Nwaneri. Not even Saka was doing this at the age of 17, so that kid is truly remarkable.
“Tears, what was Arteta cooking when he said he saw shades of Fellaini in Mikel Merino?” said a fourth person during the conversation. To add insult to injury, a fifth player stated, “We’ve got the new Fellaini.” He plays exactly like him up front. A bow is in order for Mikel Merino.
In addition to his previous role as a striker for his first club, AS Bondy, in France, William Saliba is now prepared to take on the role of a forward within the team.
According to statements made by the Frenchman in the past, “I was happy to be the main striker.” In the majority of my games, I was able to score.
Additionally, in light of the injury crisis that Arsenal is currently experiencing, Mikel Arteta has acknowledged that his team is “going to have to be creative” in order to find alternatives.
“Willy insists on saying, ‘I’ll play as striker’ every time. Almost immediately, it was one of his reactions,” Arteta stated. It is true that Willy played there, but he is a hilarious character. In the past, he had a lot of success. However, a significant number of players had played there when they were younger.
Furthermore, the Spaniard inquired, “Is that a possibility to put them in the front?” Nobody can predict what will take place in the future. We are going to have to apply our creative skills.
Merino’s heroics have allowed Arsenal to move four points behind Liverpool, who are currently in first place in the Premier League.
