Mikel Arteta told he has his own Frank Lampard at Arsenal after what happened vs Brentford

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One Arsenal star caught the eye of Wrexham defender Conor Coady during the Gunners’ win over Brentford.

Arsenal beat Brentford 2-0 on matchday 14 to restore their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points. 

Mikel Merino’s incredible form continued as the Spaniard netted his fourth goal of the season, before setting Bukayo Saka up to join him on the scoresheet.

Even Mikel Arteta didn’t expect Merino to be a striker, but the 29-year-old is changing the narrative at the Emirates by becoming a reliable source of goals.

• READ MORE: What Arsenal coaches have ‘always’ said about Mikel Merino is so interesting now

Conor Coady compared Mikel Merino to Frank Lampard during Arsenal’s win over Brentford

Midfielders with a knack for scoring goals are a profile as old as time in the Premier League. 

One of the best to do it was Frank Lampard, who scored 211 goals for Chelsea as the Blues’ midfield general, a player Merino was just compared to.

Wrexham’s Conor Coady dubbed Merino a ‘top player’ on BBC Radio 5 Live, likening the Arsenal star to Lampard. 

“Merino is a top player, isn’t he? He keeps coming up with goals. We came up against him last year at Leicester, in one of the first games he played striker, and he got two goals. He took us by surprise.

“He definitely had the instincts when he got up there, and he is always a player that times his runs into the box well, Frank Lampard, someone like that.”

Lampard isn’t the only player the Spaniard has been compared to, as Merino is called R9 by his Arsenal teammates, two names any outfield player would dream of being compared to.

Mikel Merino used to joke about being a goalscorer

With 30 goal contributions in 2025 for club and country, what started as an experiment has turned into something special for Merino. 

Martin Zubimendi spoke about Merino’s goalscoring, admitting that the pair once joked about scoring goals, with the situation so different now.

“We used to joke about it, but it’s clear he’s taken it very seriously,” Zubimendi said of his teammate.

“He’s improved tremendously, and it’s not luck because he’s trained for it, and I know he’s been working on it for a long time.”

The hard work is certainly paying off for Merino, who is a player reborn since his role in the squad was tweaked by Arteta.