Mikel Merino has scored or assisted five of his six starts for Arsenal, since Viktor Gyokeres' injury forced him back to the striker position. Against Brentford, Merino continued to shine. The 29-year-old midfielder opened the scoring with a powerful header, before assisting Bukayo Saka to double the gap.
"He played excellently again today. The way he scores is really smart - from the ability to choose the time, occupy space to the final touch" - coach Mikel Arteta praised Merino.
A total of Merino's 14 headed goals since the start of last season are the most by any Premier League player in all competitions.
All of this comes from a central midfielder who had never played as a centre-forward until Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring injury last season.
Merino quickly took over the new position, and the numbers are speaking for him. Since the beginning of the year, Merino has scored 21 goals for both club and national team, a clear testament to his transformation into a true striker. This transformation is bringing great benefits to both Arsenal and Spain, as Merino emerges as a reliable spearhead in their system.
In the near future, Arsenal will have Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus return to fullness, while Havertz is not at all. However, it will be difficult for everyone if they have to replace Merino - who's value contributes to the team far beyond goals. "He made the team much stronger," Arteta stressed after the win over Brentford.
Since Merino was promoted early last month, Arsenal have scored 15 goals in six games, taking their average from 2.1 goals/game to 2.5 goals/game. Including two impressive attacking performances against Tottenham and Bayern Munich. Merino alone directly marked nearly half of those goals, showing a clear influence.
Of course, he is different from Gyokeres in that he does not play like a traditional "number 9". The Spaniard brings another, unique and irreplaceable look in Arsenal's tactical system.
When he could not "ment" the opportunity in the penalty area, Merino was ready to retreat to the midfield, switch positions with his teammates, open up space to take the lead and continuously leave the opposing defenders in a confused state.
In his four Premier League appearances this season, Merino has only had an average of half of his touches in the box compared to Gyokeres in 90 minutes, but has had a total of nearly double touches and passes. These figures clearly reflect his role in connecting and proactive participation in attacks.
Arteta also did not forget to emphasize the amount of work Merino is carrying. He has played 8 consecutive matches in a month for both club and national team but has not shown any signs of fatigue.
This unpredictable intensity of work is not unusual for Merino. Not only has he scored more goals and provided more assists than any other Arsenal player in the last four Premier League games, he has also made 10 tackles, behind only left-back Riccardo Calafiori.
Merino's comprehensive contribution - both on and off - has made him a special link in the Arsenal system. And Merino also possesses another important quality.
"I said this before at a press conference. It is curiosity, a desire to learn and perhaps a will to contribute to the team.
He understands that we have had a big problem since the beginning of the season. We lost Victor, Kai and Gabriel Jesus. So we need a solution, and Merino has done very well since last year," Arteta stressed.
