Although some believe that Arsenal will still need to sign No. 6 if Thomas Partey leaves, this may not be the case if they have already signed Mikel Merino. In Merino, there is a player who could be a perfect Thomas Partey successor for this Arsenal team.
Analysis of the Real Sociedad man all points to his being an all-action midfielder. He can play as a…..
-deep-lying playmaker
-Attacking eight
-Double pivot
-Lone 6
The Spaniard is a master who checks every box possible. With his incredible duel-winning abilities and excellent progressive passing, he has the potential to transform Arsenal’s midfield dynamic.
One would wonder if Merino can genuinely play as a 6, but he did so a few times at Newcastle, where he excelled (under the radar), so he is certainly used to dealing with EPL hardmen.
Apart from that, Merino’s defensive stats are quite strong, and with Arsenal’s capable defenders and the tactical approach of a fullback who can invert to form a double pivot at midfield, he could excel when called upon to play as a 6.
So, even if we don’t find a direct replacement for Thomas Partey, Merino’s arrival would not necessitate the club bringing in another “Thomas Partey” type midfielder.
That said, alongside Martin Odegaard and Merino, Declan Rice could also evolve into the world class star he dreamed he’d be while moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Daniel O
Merino looks great for us and has a varied skillset but thinking he can do Partey’s role of destroyer/turn over champ shows a lack of research or time spent watching him. His interceptions alone mean he can’t replicate TP from the same role, so too his inability to quickly drift past opposition and feed the attackers.
Definitely get Merino, but we still need a Partey replacement.
Maybe if you ignore statistics and use your football knowledge you will wonder why he plays in an advanced role despite all those impressive figures/ returns. …..and why there is a Zubimendi or a Rodri whenever he sets his foot on the ground. We need Partey or an equivalent, full stop
100% – being great defensively doesn’t necessarily make a great defensive midfielder, particularly for attacking teams. Otherwise we may as well sign guehi and put him, saliba or Gabriel there. Something more on-the-ball is required for the 6 in our team – it’s more about retaining possession under pressure and spotting the most impactful forward passes quickly. Not many players have these skills, which is why we jumped at the jorginho signing.
👍 Very true Davi.When playing with a double pivot, a deep lying playmaker is better than an outright defensive mid.
Attributes like ball control and quality passing are vital considerations.
After watching the euros, where I was so impressed with the set up of the Spain team,I understand why arteta would prioritise signing a left footed midfielder than an outright Partey replacement.
I realise all of Partey,Declan,Timber&Jorginho are right footed. That’s why a player in the mould of Xhaka would give the team a better balance and improve some other players.
Playing with a left footed and a right footed mid at the base of the team gives you the best balance offensively and diffensively just like the Rodri Ruiz combo of Spain.
It’s time we moved Declan who is our main mid on the right side just like Rodri for city and pair him with a left footer like Merino who would ideally be a Xhaka replacement. This may see Declan massively improve and it may also resurrect players like Martinelli.
You have hit the nail on the head Cycliffe.My sentiments entirely.The lack of left footed left backs and central midfielders is the reason England could not match the balance in the Spanish team I have a great deal of sympathy for Southgate as their is a worrying dearth of quality left footers in these positions yet,apart from one exception, not one of the highly paid pundits on TV mentioned this vital flaw in the pool of players selected by England for the Euros.
👍 Hopefully players like Wharton and Branthwaite will come good.
then where does Odegaard play, and who is defensive mid in Arteta’s 4-3-3?
i do agree with left-foot / right-foot dynamic you refer to though
it could be that Odegaard and Rice switch sides to create that with a Merino type behind them
the other consideration is that Arsenal likely to face even more low block opponents than last season, for those opponents who are looking at the counter rather than playing football through our midfield then arguably an out-and-out #6 is not needed and be more attack minded – that is where I see a Merino being a very good addition
when playing elite PL and CL opponents then your Jorginho and/or Rice dropping back as a traditional #6 could be a better fit
Merino, Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly all added this summer could give Arteta lots dynamic options
Arsenal1886, with the left foot/right-foot mid the best formation would be a 4231.
That means Odegaard will be playing further ahead just behind the C.F.This is what used to happen when we had Xhaka and Partey.
The same way Olmo has been playing for Spain.
hmmm, but Arteta never plays that double pivot formation, Arteta played 4-3-3 every game last season
given the drop in Rice performance levels for England in a 4-2-3-1 i am not sure that would be a good idea
i don’t see Arteta changing the whole system for Merino (where this article started)
I worry a bit that signing merino would mean dropping rice deeper and we’d seriously lack for incisive passing, and would end up with a predictable style of play – which would be boring and ineffective against most teams.
I’d much rather sign olmo than merino if we’re set on dropping rice into a deeper role – I think olmo and odegaard are so clever, we *could* ask rice to sit and we’d still be good enough to play through teams.
Davi, i too would be concerned if the plan was to drop Rice back to a conventional #6, but i don’t think it is, Rice firmly in at #8
two reasons, firstly was both before Rice even kicked a ball the talk from both Rice and Arteta was him joining Arsenal was to grow and develop his game, particularly going forward, and specifically goals, the move to #8 in sceond half of the season delivered that in spades
secondly, the improvement in team performance and very strong PL run-in (2024 PL 13 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw) included Rice moving #8, the whole team played better and were more consistent
so having discovered the best position and formula for Rice and Arsenal at #8 i don’t see Arteta moving him back to #6 (but for the odd Man C or Real type opposition where Arsenal may choose a more pragmatic approach)
I would agree with Dino, that Arsenal need a proven well experienced defensive midfielder rather than a converted one.
It’s true that Merino has the stats and the defensive tools if you like, to show his defensive attributes, but does he have the discipline and positioning awareness to maintain that for 90 minutes.
He’s no Palhinha but who knows, he may be able to convert his free roaming midfield position to a disciplined defensive anchor position, and be worth a gamble.
Then again at 28 he may be set in his ways and this would become a big mistake. Old dog and new tricks and all that rubbish as they say.
Lots of people calling for a ‘ Partey replacement’ but I find that unrealistic as long as Partey is still around. I think what’s important in a midfield is balance. Assuming Rice and Odegaard are nailed on starters,the aim is finding someone who complements their skill sets. It doesn’t have to be someone who plays like Partey. It could well be someone who plays like Xhaka or Jorginho or Fabregas.
To my mind jorginho is like partey, a deep lying playmaker who sits in front of the defence. He’s not as good defensively but plays a similar role in teams and does provide that incisive passing.
I don’t think xhaka has enough passing ability to compensate for what partey provides, if he were to be paired with rice (xhaka was at his best when he played *with* Partey for us), but a more advanced midfielder like fabregas absolutely would imo – I suppose finding someone as brilliant as fabregas would be just as difficult as finding as brilliant a no6 to replace partey but I’d be happy with either.
Maybe nwaneri is considered to have fabregas-potential?