Mikel Merino will undoubtedly require time and patience from Arsenal fans in order to meet expectations. Merino made his first Arsenal start on Saturday, although it was not in ideal circumstances. He did so in a game in which the Gunners had to play with one less man due to William Saliba’s red card, and he also did so without his dream partner Martin Odegaard (who he did play with at Real Sociedad).
Prior to that game, Merino had produced some excellent cameo performances against PSG and Southampton, and many anticipated him to be an instant hit, but he wasn’t.
Speaking on Premier League productions, Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit stated that Merino has clearly not entirely transitioned to the Premier League. He noted that since the Premier League is faster than La Liga, the Spaniard may need to be quicker about his actions.
“For me, at the moment, Merino hasn’t totally adapted to English football. The pace and the intensity,” the 1998 World Cup winner said.
“When you play for Spain or when you play in Spain, you have some time when you receive the ball and you have a few seconds to think about it and what you are going to do with the ball. In the Premier League, you have no time to think about that.”
He added, “I am totally confident he can adapt himself to the Premier League.”
Merino, who has already played in the Premier League with Newcastle United, should know what to do to reach the level required to be a success in Arsenal’s colors. The plan was for him to play as an LCM, but he didn’t have the ideal conditions on Saturday; perhaps when Arsenal plays next, the conditions will be more favourable for him to emerge as the LCM Arsenal desperately needed after the Granit Xhaka era.
Daniel O
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Yes, he needs time.
There seems to be a propensity in some JA articles (on Kiwior recently, for example) to suggest it’s a poor performance or two and it’s almost time to show the player the “exit” door. I know it’s not being suggested in Merino’s case but a little more patience, where appropriate of course, wouldn’t do any harm.
If a player has had plenty of opportunities and still doesn’t deliver – and I’m sure we can all think of one or two – then he becomes open to criticism and, even, offloaded (although that’s often easier said than done).
I didn’t think that he was critized but only saying he needs time to integrate. I think Arteta realises that and is managing him well.
Any clear thinking Arsenal fan will appreciate that it is likely to take Merino a few games to adjust to the pace of the EPL particularly after a lengthy injury .I may be wrong but I suspect Arteta signed him to pair up with Rice as the hub of central midfield with Odegaard as the main source of creativity ahead.The injury to Odegaard has undoubtedly impacted on our ability to create chances,and while the midfield trio against Bournemouth was physically strong their energy was drained by the fact that Saliba was sent off which resulted in the home side always had a spare man.Unless you have played the game at a decent level fans will simply not appreciate how tough it is physically to cope with such a handicap.In many ways it was easier to defend against City where a draw was commendable, whilst against Bournemouth we were expected to win and our fans still expected us to control possession and attack more.In any event, we simply have to keep eleven men on the pitch when fans can make a balanced judgement of our players, including Merino.
So many of the more recent arrivals to Arsenal seem to hit-the-ground-running these days (Trossard/Raya/Timber/Calafiori/etc) that the bar is set high. Havertz struggled at first, and now nobody complains about how much he cost. If Merino has the ability & attitude (Which I assume was thoroughly examined before signing him) then he should come good. Might just take a bit longer than we’re used to lately.
A capital YES! Even the player in his interview after Bournemouth game agreed. He left Epl many years back playing in a technical but not fast paced league (la Lega) The advantage he has is that his adaptation to Epl will be faster. I guess withing five full games we shall see a much better version of him. He is a box to box player.
I wish Merino can be tried sooner in a No8 position while Rice returns to No6. We already know what Pathey can do in No6
Of course, he hasn’t played a full game yet.