Arsenal’s failure to usurp Manchester City as Premier League champions in each of the last two seasons can be excused by several factors. Pep Guardiola’s side have only known winning for the last four campaigns, while Mikel Arteta’s players are trying to get over the line and deliver a first league title for more than 20 years.
After missing out on top spot by five points in the 2022-23 season, Arsenal strengthened in every area last summer, signing the goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford on loan, the defender Jurriën Timber from Ajax, the midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham and the forward Kai Havertz from Chelsea. After investing more than £200m in the squad, Arteta’s team were expected to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title, and that they did, this time missing out by just two points. They won 16 of their last 18 league games but a devastating defeat against Aston Villa sealed their fate.
The season concluded with supporters agreeing about the areas they needed to strengthen: left-back and holding midfield. Arteta has acted quickly to address the team’s inconsistencies at left-back, signing the Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna for £42m. The manager chopped and changed at left-back last season, starting with Timber before his injury and then bringing in the attack-minded Oleksandr Zinchenko before opting for the defensively strong Jakub Kiwior. Now he can develop a settled back four.
With the defence in better shape, the priority for Arteta and sporting director Edu is to recruit another midfielder. Rice’s outstanding performances towards the end of last season came largely when the England midfielder moved from playing a more conservative No 6 role to a more advanced No 8 position. Jorginho and Thomas Partey both operated as the deepest players in a midfield three last season to free up Rice but, approaching their mid 30s, they are more in Arsenal’s past than their future.
So who should the club bring in to take their midfield up a level? Which player would take this team from one that finishes second in the table to one that finally pips Manchester City to the title? It looks like Mikel Merino, the Real Sociedad player who helped Spain win the Euros earlier this month, is the man for the job. The 28-year-old has less than a year on his contract with La Real and has yet to agree to an extension.
Merino had a nomadic start to his career. He started out at the club where his father played, Osasuna, making his debut a decade ago, before signing for Borussia Dortmund and then Newcastle, where he worked under fellow Spaniard Rafa Benítez. He showed some promise during his one season with Newcastle, but was sold to Real Sociedad for around £10m in 2018. He was just 22 years old when he returned to the Basque Country.
Merino has really progressed over the last six years. He was Real Sociedad’s best player last season and was our highest ranked central midfielder in La Liga. Those performances have been rewarded at international level. He made his Spain debut in 2020 and emerged as a hero for the team at the Euros this summer, scoring the crucial 119th-minute winner against Germany that took Spain into the semi-finals. He featured in all seven of Spain’s games, a fitting reward for his performances at club level.
Under Imanol Alguacil, Merino has been deployed most frequently as a left-sided No 8, in a 4-3-3 setup not dissimilar to Arteta’s chosen formation for Arsenal. The Spain international is also more than capable of anchoring a midfield trio or forming a double pivot. His versatility in the middle of the park, combined with Rice’s ability to swap positions, would mean the pair could interchange depending on the opposition and game state.
Merino is the type of midfielder Arteta would create in a lab if given the chance. He is press-resistant, creative, combative and, above all, a duel-winning machine; Merino won more aerial duels (168) than any other midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues last season.
Like Rice, who Arsenal paid around £105m for last summer, Merino is an impressively complete midfielder. He can step forward as a No 8 and lead the press, as the Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard often does, but he can also defend deep as a No 6 when required, whether that be alongside another player or on his own. Merino even has experience of playing alongside Odegaard: they were in the Real Sociedad team that won the Copa del Rey in 2020. Merino was the man of the match in the final.
The addition of Calafiori will also help shore up the Arsenal midfield. The Italian defender has already shown – most notably at Euro 2024 – that he is adept at stepping into midfield when his side have possession, and would add further presence to what could be a physically imposing midfield with Rice and Merino, both of whom are over six feet tall.
At a reported price of €30 (£25.3m), Merino would be a shrewd purchase for a side hoping to go one step further, domestically and in Europe next season. His ability to fulfil various roles in the midfield also means he would not stand in the way of emerging midfielders, such as Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, from being given more playing time. The two 17-year-olds are extremely highly thought of by their club and will hopefully work their way into the team over the coming seasons.
Arteta has often said that Arsenal do not just need to be good, but perfect, if they are to finish above a Manchester City side managed by Guardiola. Merino could be the final piece of a title-winning jigsaw.
Source: theguardian.com
