In Arsenal’s first game of the season, fans were eagerly watching to see if the team’s left-hand side would finally come together. Mikel Arteta decided to give Oleksandr Zinchenko a shot at left back and Gabriel Martinelli a chance at left wing.
The duo tried their best to regain the Spaniard’s trust, but unfortunately, their efforts didn’t yield much result. Zinchenko’s defensive performance left much to be desired, while Martinelli showed outstanding potential but still struggled to find the finishing touch.
There’s definitely a need for a change on Arsenal’s left-hand side, but luckily Mikel Merino is on his way in. He could solve Arsenal’s LHS attack and defence issues. The Spaniard’s arrival in Arsenal’s squad brings another player who excels in ground duels and, more importantly, adds another dimension of aerial threat.
Throw in Mikel Merino’s impressive passing skills, and we have a 6’2 problem solver on our left side who can set up our wide players while also providing defensive support for the team.
Heading into this new season, it was important to make the most of Arsenal’s left-hand side, as it was a weak point last season. The Gunners have just brought in Riccardo Calafiori for the left back position, and Mikel Merino is also joining to play as the left central midfielder.
We expect them to make a significant impact once they fully understand their responsibilities. As he gradually integrates into the team, Calafiori may require some time to become fully reliable.
On the other hand, we anticipate Mikel Merino to bring immediate power, agility, assertiveness, height, and the technical finesse typically associated with Spanish players. With the Euros Champion on the left, the experiment with Declan as LCM will end with Arteta’s decision to sideline Partey to a backup role.
Darren N
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Talk about a self-inflicted shot with Zinchenko.
We’ve got the Euros champion coming in. Very few of us really know anything much about the abilities of Merino. We do know that he toiled away at Sociedad as they finished 9th, 6th, 6th, 6th, 4th, and 6th in LaLiga during his six seasons (along with Zubimendi for 5 of those) and is apparently valued now at approx. £30 million. We were able to move £67.5 million Havertz to the #9 position after he was so ineffective in the left #8. Is Merino really going to be enough of a difference maker at Arsenal to put us over the top? We’ll see, I hope so.
If Merino and Zubemendi “toiled away” as you put it at RS why were they chosen for the Euros by the best side in the Tournament.Could it have something to do with their quality as individuals?
Thanks for making my point.
I love Merino and desperately hope for him to be here so partey could relax
Blimey, I hope we either sign this guy or not soon, he must be the player with the most articles about him, really getting boring now.
not as repetitive and boring as Osimhen articles…
…or Toney.
Karim Benzema has entered the chat..
Martinelli and Zinchenko played well, even though they didn’t produce any assist or goal
Merino’s arrival would likely not increase Martinelli’s and Zinchenko’s productivity, because of Arteta’s left overload tactics
But we might see Merino scoring with his header because of the crosses from Odegaard and Saka
i have written a couple of times that I am worried for Martinelli
one of my worries is he becomes the next Tierney, i.e. unable to grow and develop his game and gets left behind
Martinelli’s best weapon is pace, unfortunately for him pace is nullified in a low block as there is simply no room
instead he needs to be able to operate in tight spaces and play with both foot, some aerial ability doesn’t go astray either
Arsenal burst out of the traps in the 22/23 season when teams were still setting up like against the old Arsenal, after a while they backed off and by the end of the season the XI behind the ball low block was appearing
come the 23/24 PL season just gone and the low block was frequently deployed and Martinelli’s game has declined in line
unfortunately as we saw in Euro24 the low/mid block is now being used even by some good teams, i.e. it is not going away
Martinelli needs to grow and develop his game to find a way in this new normal, or otherwise…
…otherwise failure to adapt and he will go the way of Tierney
there is hope though, Calafiori and particularly Merino are coming in as part of a left side plan, and the good news for Martinelli is Arteta is giving him the chance over Trossard early in the PL season
i was surprised Trossard didn’t start on Saturday, the reason why is I saw in the Leverkusen game a deliberate ploy of Havertz in left attacking midfield combining really well with Trossard and Zinc in a left hand side triangle to emulate the Odegaard/Saka/White triangle on the right
let’s see if a Merino/Martinelli/Calafiori left side triangle can save Martinelli’s career and fire Arsenal to the title
For skill and speed would love to see Arsenal get Mitoma as a left wing/ attacker back up