Euro 2024 winner Mikel Merino has completed a €32 million transfer from Spanish side Real Sociedad to Premier League giants Arsenal, on a four year contract until 2028. The Gunners have been very keen on his signature, spending the better part of the summer in negotiations with Sociedad for their No. 8.
Arsenal’s midfield has been crying out for a metronome ever since Granit Xhaka left in the summer of 2023. Arteta’s short-term solution to the dilemma was Kai Havertz being utilized as a left interior for the first half of the season & Declan Rice pushed up as a No. 8. With the signing of Mikel Merino, Arsenal seek to somewhat alleviate the issue & bridge the gap between them and current champions (and four-peat holders) Manchester City.
So, how will Mikel Merino fit Arsenal’s current midfield dynamics? Arsenal currently play three in midfield; usually a trio of Partey, Rice & Odegaard. With the former’s inevitable physical decline & lack of tactical awareness, it makes sense why Mikel Arteta moved quickly to acquire a player who will raise the floor of the squad the way Merino will.
To begin, let’s talk tactics and compare Mikel Arteta to the best manager in world football - Pep Guardiola. The dynamics of an Arteta midfield have flipped the principles of a traditional Guardiola midfield.
Manchester City
— Holding midfielder (Rodri),
— All-phase, conductor, left defensive pivot (Gundogan/Kovacic),
— Output-oriented No. 10 (De Bruyne).
Arsenal
— Holding midfielder (Rice),
— Output-oriented left defensive pivot (Merino),
— Attacking-phase creative No. 10 (Odegaard).
Do you notice the difference? Mikel Arteta has carefully designed a midfield to cater to Martin Odegaard’s strengths - Merino is the finishing touch (for now).
If shift our focus to Merino’s player profile, we’ll learn he’s 6’2, and an all-phase No. 8 - don’t let his performances at Euro 2024 fool you, he’s not purely a box crashing midfielder, a la Bellingham last season for Real Madrid. At Real Sociedad, he regularly dropped in the pivot with Martin Zubimendi during early build-up to form a double pivot as a hybrid No. 6/8, at times functioning as the sole pivot while Zubimendi remained forward.
Compared to Granit Xhaka, it is understandable why Merino is seen as too aggressive. However, Arteta doesn’t only want him because of his forward-thinking mentality. Arteta wants him because Mikel Merino is an elite midfielder in all phases, Gundogan-esque.
In more advanced areas of the pitch, Merino offers something that Xhaka never did - presence between the lines & the ability to receive with his back to goal. He can play the ball forward or carry it with his powerful strides. His output in midfield is quite impressive, as he averages 9 goal contributions as a box-to-box midfielder.
What’s special about Mikel Merino compared to other midfielders of his profile is how progression-oriented he is. If he sees an attacker waiting between the lines, 9 times out of 10 he’ll play the ball into him & get the team forward. This is balanced out by Martin Odegaard’s composed nature on the ball. Shades of Jordan Henderson.
An aspect to highlight of Merino is his proficiency in duels. He won 326 duels last season for Sociedad, the most for any player in Europe’s top 7 leagues (according to Squaka & Opta data). He can win aerial battles & win the ball cleanly on the ground to play it forward immediately. This also provides Arsenal more options to play long to, which is great for bypassing opposition presses.
In the box, Mikel Merino’s ability to crash the box at the most opportune moments & attack balls were an invaluable asset for both his club & international sides - his classic late run into the box secured a 119th minute winner against Germany that propelled Spain into the European Championship semi-finals, a tournament they would go on to win.
Let’s explore some of his shortcomings. To begin, he’s too progressive. His main intention is to receive on the half-turn and play to his man, which opposition teams can take advantage of with an aggressive mark on his usual passing options (Martinelli, Havertz, Odegaard). He may be an elite carrier, but he is not an elite passer.
Another issue is that he can’t influence the tempo in possession like Kroos, Gundogan or Thiago can. He’s too impatient. This wasn’t an issue at Real Sociedad where we had Zubimendi to conduct play, but at Arsenal he’ll likely only have Jorginho (maybe Odegaard) behind him to carefully maintain possession.
A factor to consider is that Merino is left-footed - he’ll naturally have an angle bias, especially considering he’s a midfielder. Arsenal already have to compensate for Odegaard’s angle bias on the right-hand side, so can Arteta find a way to allow two left-footers to function as his pivot & interior, respectively.
To conclude this piece on Mikel Merino’s move to Arsenal, it should be noted that his combination of physicality and technique will get the North London club over the line in many tight Champions League games where Arteta needs serial duel winners to exert dominance in every phase.
Mikel Arteta would’ve preferred a deep conductor to complete his midfield, but Mikel Merino fits all the attributes they’re looking for as a very versatile and complete midfielder.
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