How Arsenal turned Mikel Merino into one of Europe’s most lethal strikers | OneFootball

Stand-in frontman is outscoring Alexander Isak, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah

Isak, Kane and Salah all have five in that period to leave them trailing in his wake.

The Spaniard has enjoyed a memorable couple of months since being turned into a striker and his goal rush is made all the more remarkable when you throw in the fact that in one of those 10 games he was asked to play in midfield.

Merino scored Arsenal’s third goal against Real Madrid with a smart left-foot finish

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The photoshops on social media of Merino mocked up as the legendary Brazil striker Ronaldo started as a joke, but with each passing week they are less so.

Merino has followed the path first trodden by Kai Havertz - sign for Arsenal as a No8, struggle, go to Dubai in the middle of the season, move upfront and suddenly start scoring goals.

This was never the plan for the Spaniard, and unlike Havertz he had no track record of playing upfront. In fact, before February, the last time Merino had played as a striker was when he was seven years old at school.

Arteta was forced to get creative when Gabriel Jesus and Havertz were ruled out for the rest of the season and moving Merino forward has proved one of his best tactical tweaks.

Put it this way, if Arsenal had signed a striker in January that went on to score six goals in 10 games, they would be lauded for a brilliant piece of transfer business.

So, it is only right that Arteta is now praised for finding a solution that was so wild at the time that Merino got messages off his friends asking if the rumours were true when reports first emerged that he could play as a striker.

The 28-year-old admitted in a recent interview he has now got a “taste” for the role, but it came as a surprise to him at first.

Arsenal were on their usual pre-match walk ahead of a game at Leicester in February when one of Arteta’s assistants, Miguel Molina, collared him for a chat.

Merino has six goals in his last 10 games for Arsenal

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Molina told Merino that he was on the bench that day, however the plan was he may come on upfront if needed.

Arteta and his staff thought it would be better if the midfielder was given less notice about the move, so he would not overthink it. Merino came on as a second-half substitute and scored both goals in a 2-0 win.

The idea behind moving the Spaniard to the No9 role was born out of the fact he was the closest profile in the squad to Havertz.

It has taken time and there are still flaws to it - as highlighted by moments in the first half against Real Madrid when Bukayo Saka flashed balls across the box that a natural striker would have poked home.

But Arsenal and Merino have come to make the best of the situation, adapting to what he brings to the side.

He has acted as a focal point, playing with his back to goal and linking the play well.

More recently, he has also started dropping deep into midfield, leaving space for Gabriel Martinelli to exploit by coming off the left flank.

Merino has shown an eye for goal, something Arsenal noted when they scouted him.

His finish against Real Madrid will be forgotten because of Declan Rice’s stunning free-kicks, but it was an exquisite first-time effort.

“He has got a goal threat,” Arteta has said. “He’s got really good timing to arrive in certain areas and execute. He can smell danger.”

Even after his heroics against Leicester, some players in the Arsenal squad expected Merino’s stint as a striker to be short lived - especially once Martinelli and Saka returned to provide more options in attack.

But Merino has kept the role and it was no surprise he started against Real Madrid.

He deserves credit for that, not least because he has spent extra time with Arsenal’s analysts since taking on a new role.

He is regarded as a student of the game and, even before moving upfront, wanted to learn other players’ roles in the team.

Merino believed if he knew what other players had to do, it would make him understand what he himself in turn had to do.

The midfielder views himself as a facilitator and that outlook has stayed with him even as a No9.

“I don’t think a striker needs to be anything particularly different,” said Merino. “Of course, the movements are different, but the core principles are the same.”