Mikel Merino has vowed to continue fulfilling any role required for Arsenal after revealing the unusual way he found out how he might play at centre-forward – by reading a story online.
The Spaniard thrived in his surprise stint as a makeshift striker, scoring a match-winning brace against Leicester. The Gunners’ inability to secure a striker in the January window, coupled with top scorer Kai Havertz‘s season-ending hamstring injury, left the team in a bind.
With Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli sidelined, Mikel Arteta was forced to improvise with his attacking options as the title contenders aimed to break down a stubborn Leicester side.
In a daring move, Arteta introduced Merino in place of Raheem Sterling in the 69th minute, and the midfielder delivered magnificently, netting twice to clinch a crucial 2-0 victory. “It was crazy for me to come on the pitch in that position,” Merino said.
“But this game is about small details sometimes, about who’s more precise in the last metres. We were clinical in those last 20 minutes with me trying to make an impact in the box and with my team-mates just putting in some amazing balls.”
“We won the game and I’m really, really, really happy.” In just 21 minutes, Merino managed to double his season’s goal tally, having scored only twice in his previous 26 appearances for Arsenal since his transfer from Real Sociedad.
And he revealed: “To be honest, it was just this morning when they told me it was a possibility. I read something in the media, but I wouldn’t believe it, but this morning they told me. I said I’m ready to do whatever the team needs me to do. I think I showed it.”
“I read something in the media, but I wouldn’t believe it, but this morning they told me. I said I’m ready to do whatever the team needs me to do. I think I showed it.”
As Arsenal maintained their chase of Premier League table-toppers Liverpool, a ninth defeat in 10 fixtures plunged Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester into a depressingly familiar malaise.
Van Nistelrooy remained resolutely positive, stressing the effort and unity within the side: “It’s clear we’re doing absolutely what we can.
“I can’t ask for any more from the players in terms of commitment and spirit and the physical performance they put in, the way they are playing together and stopping this Arsenal team from playing and scoring for an awful long time, creating ourselves and playing the way we want to play, going direct when we couldn’t.
“We did everything possible today and then you can’t ask any more. You have to be proud of this team and supportive of this team, and with the belief that we keep going like this and results will come.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk