How Mikel Merino became Arsenal’s unlikely goal machine: The key attributes that Mikel Arteta saw before anyone else, why he’s such a good finisher and how he’s gone to a new level as a striker this season
For most Premier League managers, a frontline deprived of six strikers would result in an identity crisis.
This includes Mikel Arteta, last season. But not anymore.
Once again, the player who solves his problems from the start is Mikel Merino – the all-round problem solver who has become Arsenal’s Swiss army knife.
From February last season, Merino was played at number 9 out of desperation as there were no other viable options after injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. Havertz’s serious hamstring injury during a mid-season trip to Dubai was particularly distressing, days after Arsenal decided against bringing in reinforcements in January.
Nine months later, Havertz is sidelined again, Jesus is still returning and the £64m solution signed to avoid such a scenario, Viktor Gyokeres, is also injured.
So here we are again, with Merino the only option left for Arteta. But it’s a different animal than the one we saw last season.
Once again, the player who solves Mikel Arteta’s problems from the start is Mikel Merino – the versatile problem solver who has become Arsenal’s Swiss army knife.
Merino is a very different player from the makeshift striker who replaced the striker at the end of last season.
The Spaniard has 19 goals in 2025 for club and country, a spectacular transformation for a player who arrived as a box-to-box midfielder just over 12 months ago.
This merino was transformed by Arteta, who had long identified the player as someone with the traits and ability to be devastating in the box.
For Spain, he has six goals in his last four World Cup qualifiers – only Erling Haaland and Memphis Depay have more (12 and six, respectively) in the European qualifying section.
It was a run that took the 29-year-old’s tally to 19 in 2025, for club and country. These numbers belong to a striker, not the box-to-box midfielder he was intended to be.
Behind the scenes, Arsenal’s work to transform Merino into a finisher is paying off.
Arsenal’s success this season is mainly due to their impregnable defense. But the other level is their ability to find goals even without their frontline attackers.
When Gyokeres limped off at half-time against Burnley last week, he joined Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Havertz and Jesus in the treatment room – a significant part of the squad was withdrawn barely a quarter of the way through the season.
But instead of wallowing in his misfortune – which Arteta almost did on Monday when he suggested the depth of his club’s squad was not as deep as some observers suggest – the Spaniard sees it as an invitation, a challenge.
Havertz came in as number 8 drifting down the left side of midfield. It wasn’t the most successful experience, but he then found his feet as a number 9 and has 24 goals for Arsenal since his switch. And that’s a common theme.
Arsenal are without six front-line attackers, including Noni Madueke (left), Viktor Gyokeres (centre) and Kai Havertz (right).
Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber have become marauding full-backs under Arteta
Merino embodies Arteta’s philosophy that adaptability matters, with Arsenal squad full of players who have changed roles
At the other end of the pitch, Riccardo Calafiori has moved from his favored role as center back to left back, and has become a marauding presence as likely to feature in the opposition’s box as in his own. Jurrien Timber followed a similar path on the right side of defense.
Bukayo Saka went from left-back in Arteta’s first game in charge six years ago to one of the most threatening right forwards in Europe. Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also moved from center to flank since joining Arteta’s side.
The manager’s philosophy is clear: adaptability counts. Merino embodies this.
Last season in February, when Havertz missed three months with a hamstring injury, it was Merino who stepped forward – literally. Arteta pushed him up front for the first time at Leicester, asking him to combine midfield structure with presence in the penalty box. He scored twice late in the game to give Arsenal a victory that kept their fading title hopes alive.
It is understood that during the period Havertz was injured last season, the Arsenal coaching staff focused on the centre-forward positioning with Merino in training. His finishing ability has always been recognized by Arteta, but playing in an unfamiliar role takes some getting used to.
Arteta said: “(It was about) talking to him and making sure he plays closer to the box and identifies opportunities, timing, how he needs to attack spaces versus how they (the opposition) defend the box.
“And then it’s obviously his quality that he will have to learn and practice every day.”
It may seem obvious now, but never before has a manager – and Merino played under Luis Enrique, Thomas Tuchel and Luis de la Fuente – identified his goalscoring abilities.
Arteta first pushed Merino forward at Leicester in February, asking him to combine midfield structure with presence in the penalty box. Merino scored twice off the bench late in the match
He has also become a threat for Spain, scoring six times in their last four World Cup qualifiers.
His first season with Arsenal saw him score nine goals, already a career high for a single campaign, including against Real Madrid, home and away against Liverpool, and a winner against Chelsea. He has already added three more this season to complete Spain’s six.
During his six seasons at Real Sociedad, Merino played solely in central midfield, as a left No.8, with an emphasis on both defensive work and acting as a glue between midfield and attacking transitions.
Standing at 6ft 2in tall, he was also one of the best aerial midfielders in La Liga. He won more duels (326) than any other player in Europe’s five major leagues in his final season with La Real and, just like at Arsenal, he was often used from set pieces.
But now, pushed to become the focal point of goals, he has added a whole new layer to his game.
His double against Slavia Prague on Tuesday underlined this growing instinct. In the first minute of the second half, he entered the box to volley home Leandro Trossard’s cross with the composure of someone who had been an attacker all his life. Twenty minutes later he beat goalkeeper Jakub Markovic in the air to nod home Declan Rice’s effort. One ends subtly, the other powerful – both instinctive.
This is what makes the initial Merino deployment more than just an emergency patchwork. He offers something different: the physicality to compete in duels, the timing to arrive late and the calmness to make the first touches count.
In terms of duels per 90 minutes and success in all competitions, he was Arsenal’s No. 1 last season (15 duels per game, 7.5 of which he won). This is still true this season (14.1 per match, victory 6.4).
When Merino starts as a false nine, Arsenal subtly reshape themselves around him. He drops central defenders, links the midfield and opens half-spaces for runners – go back and watch Saka’s goal at the Bernabeu for a perfect example of how Merino’s movement tears apart defenses. It’s not so much that Merino becomes a full-fledged striker, it’s that the Gunners don’t need him in the traditional sense when he plays there.
In the first minute of the second half at Slavia Prague, Merino entered the area to volley home Leandro Trossard’s cross.
Twenty minutes later he beat goalkeeper Jakub Markovic in the air to nod home Declan Rice’s effort. One subtle finish, the other powerful – both instinctive
Merino offers Arsenal something different: the physicality to compete in duels, the timing to arrive late and the calmness to make first touches count
And when Arsenal have to give up, they offer bite. He’s a monster of a duel, and he works hard in pressing.
Asked in March about his use in attack against Leicester, Merino said: “He (Arteta) had said, ‘Don’t go crazy’, that they didn’t intend for me to be a standard centre-forward, on the last line, attacking space.
“It was about using my qualities: bringing the ball, doing the things I know how to do. Then I was lucky enough to score two goals and win the match.
For Arsenal, these details – the timing, the aerial duels, the movement, the finishing – are what keep a title challenge alive. And that’s where a player like Merino comes into play.