Arsenal Debate: Why did Arsenal buy Mikel Merino instead of a striker or winger?

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·9 Desember 2024

Arsenal Debate: Why did Arsenal buy Mikel Merino instead of a striker or winger?

Last season, several fans believed Arsenal failed to perform to their full potential due to the absence of Granit Xhaka, who had left for Bayer Leverkusen. The Swiss midfielder brought vitality to our left side, and so he left it breathless; his absence left Arsenal struggling.

Declan Rice occasionally attempted to influence the team from LCM, but many believed Arsenal still needed to recruit a left-sided #8 this summer. Mikel Arteta worked hard to bring Mikel Merino on board, and we thought the Spaniard, whose duel statistics described him as a duel monster, was the perfect Xhaka LCM replacement. However, the Real Sociedad star hasn’t proven himself yet. In fact, it seems that his injury-related absence and subsequent limited game time have prevented him from showcasing his abilities.

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Thomas Partey’s undroppability has resulted in him being limited to cameo appearances due to the need to accommodate Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard in the starting lineup. I honestly thought Mikel Merino would easily break into Arsenal’s starting lineup. Guess I was mistaken.

However, given our efforts to acquire Mikel Merino as a solution to our LCM issues, he should be starting most games. As good as he is in aerial duels, he could be an additional goal threat on the pitch. Who can forget how impactful he was against Chelsea in the London Derby before the break?

Mikel Merino of Arsenal is surrounded by Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Mykhaylo Mudryk of Chelsea (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

If we could get him to do what he did in that game on a consistent basis, what’s stopping the LHS from being revived?

Arsenal demonstrated their right-side bias against Fulham, but they had no choice but to do so. The Timber-Rice-Trossard/Martinelli combination will never work. Last season, we expressed our desire to strengthen the LCM; now that we cannot use the player we recruited for the position, why can’t we rely on a different, fresh option, such as Ethan Nwaneri?

As If we thought Rice’s future was at LCM, why go through the hassle of trying to sign Merino when we could have spent that money on a top winger or striker?

Jack Anderson

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