Arsenal: Mikel Arteta 'needs another Merino' as he ponders striker decision | OneFootball

Arteta seeking more unlikely heroes as he weighs up Mikel Merino move for West Ham clash

It therefore came as a surprise to the Spaniard when one of Mikel Arteta’s backroom staff told him he really could be used as a makeshift frontman.

Moments before Merino was thrown on for the final 20 minutes at the King Power Stadium, he was collared by Arteta for some final instructions.

Mikel Merino scored twice as a makeshift centre-forward to give Arsenal a 2-0 win at Leicester

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It turned out to be a masterstroke. Merino’s two goals in the final 10 minutes secured a 2-0 win and, crucially, meant Arsenal kept pace with Liverpool in the title race.

Merino was an unlikely hero and the Gunners will need plenty more over the next month.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli should be back in March, but Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are out for the rest of the season.

After not signing a forward in January, the win over Leicester was a taste of what life will be like for Arsenal until Martinelli and Saka return.

Arsenal have four Premier League games and both legs of their Champions League last-16 tie before the March international break.

They will hope Martinelli and Saka are back before then, but the club will not rush them and in the meantime Arteta has just three fit forwards to call upon.

It is why others must step up, just like Merino did on Saturday.

“It can be a set-piece, it can be in various ways, the team has a lot of capacities in open spaces,” said Arteta.

“We’re going to have various contexts. Sometimes we’re going to have to make a sub because a player isn’t performing, or because the opposition is doing something else, or because someone has a yellow card, or it’s fatigue.

Arteta is weighing up whether to start Merino up top when Arsenal host West Ham on Saturday

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“That’s going to restrict what we do really in terms of the personnel. We have prepared for different scenarios, then those have to work. Hopefully they will work as good as Mikel worked.”

Merino was praised for his brace off the bench, but his overall game was impressive.

The Spaniard gave Arsenal a focal point in attack and they looked more threatening going forward.

Arsenal were able to go long when required and the team seemed more comfortable playing with someone that shared Havertz’s physical qualities and ability to link the play.

Leandro Trossard, who had started the game upfront, also looked better out wide and actually setup Merino’s second goal with a brilliant cross.

“We had much more urgency, better intentions, better executions and then you can sense that the game was going in the direction that it had to go,” said Arteta.

“The team has a different way, different resources, different tools to win football matches and stay competitive.”

The debate for Arteta is whether he starts Merino up top this weekend when Arsenal host West Ham.

Merino certainly did enough to justify sticking by him and, had it not been for Ethan Nwaneri, he would have been man of the match against Leicester.

Nwaneri set up Merino’s opening goal and hit the post twice.

He was electric all game and, if anyone is to step up over the next month to be a hero, the 17-year-old surely will.

But Arteta will not be fussed who it is.

The key is for Arsenal to stay in the title race, especially after Liverpool dropped points last week and now face Aston Villa, Manchester City and Newcastle in the space of eight days.

Arsenal must keep Liverpool within reach until the cavalry of Martinelli and Saka are able to return.