Mikel Arteta on Merino as a striker, Nwaneri and Messi comparisons, and Sterling struggles | OneFootball

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hailed Mikel Merino for stepping up when Arsenal needed him, as his double secured a 2-0 victory over Leicester City.

Merino was used as a makeshift striker off the bench with the Gunners currently enduring an injury crisis in attack.

And the Spaniard responded by netting twice to give his side victory, first heading in from a superb Ethan Nwaneri cross before finishing from close range from Leandro Trossard’s ball across goal.

Merino admitted his surprise at being told he was going to play as a striker but Arteta says he has the attributes to be a threat in that position.

Asked about comparisons to Arteta’s former team-mate Marouane Fellaini at Everton, Arteta said: “I didn’t think about him, to be fair but Mikel has got that.

“It’s a good threat because he can smell danger. He can anticipate the action. He’s got really good timing to arrive to certain areas. And then, obviously, he has the capacity to execute with a lot of parts of his body.

“And he needed the delivery. He certainly had that as well and he put it in the back of the net.”

Nwaneri looked Arsenal’s most lively attacking player, particularly in an underwhelming first half.

It prompted comparisons between the 17-year-old and Lionel Messi from pundit and former player Joe Cole, and Arteta says the youngster is proving he is ready despite his age.

He said: “Well, what he’s showing basically, that’s him. Obviously, his age is always something that puts a question mark on how we have to deal with him. But every sign that he’s given us is ‘Let me go for it, let me go, let me go, let me go.’

“When a player is giving you all those signs, you should not stop it. You have to play with that freedom, with that creativity, with that confidence that he’s playing at the minute, and the players around him believe in him. So let him go because he’s a massive threat, massive talent and he deserves to play.”

Arsenal’s injury crisis has presented an opportunity for Raheem Sterling to get more opportunity but the on-loan forward again struggled to have an impact before he was subbed off.

But Arteta insists it was not just him that needed to improve after the first half.

“I think from everybody, to step up the game because in the first half, as I said, especially in the first 20-25 minutes, we weren’t at our standards, and when that happens it’s very difficult for the front players.”