Arsenal are in a difficult place after suffering disappointing results in back-to-back fixtures this week.
The Gunners were held by Brighton at the Amex last weekend, before Newcastle beat Mikel Arteta’s team at the Emirates in the EFL Cup in midweek.
Criticism around the team’s performances is beginning to circulate, and the pressure is subsequently growing on Arteta to reverse Arsenal’s fortunes.
Not scoring enough goals, the North Londoners look devoid of attacking firepower, and this is leading to question marks being raised about the club’s approach in the summer transfer window.
Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori and Raheem Sterling were added to Arteta’s squad, and now Arsenal appear to be paying the price for not sufficiently bolstering their forward cohort.
Mikel Merino says he has a similar trait to David Silva and Andres Iniesta
The signing of Merino has certainly raised eyebrows at the Emirates.
While the 28-year-old was acquired for a relatively modest fee, and is on modest wages, the opportunity cost of his arrival is what has frustrated Arsenal fans.
The money outlayed on Merino could have been allocated elsewhere, with an attacker most pertinently on the minds of the Gunners faithful.
Arsenal weren’t able to sign Nico Williams in the summer, potentially because they prioritised securing the winger’s Spanish compatriot, and Arteta’s team’s offensive issues this term suggest that this could’ve been a mistake.
However, Merino did arrive in N5, and Arsenal fans will encouraged by a comparison he’s made to two other players.
Speaking to the Standard, while admitting that his skillset differed to the likes of David Silva and Andres Iniesta, Merino claimed he shares the same mentality as the pair of midfielders.
He said: “I might be big and strong, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the other qualities.
“Obviously, I’m not a David Silva style of player. But all those pass-first mentality, pass and move, keep the ball, don’t feel the pressure when you have a player on your back – I think those are things that I have in my game.
“It’s about just trying to develop it. But obviously, I’m not going to be the player who moves in the pocket like David Silva did or moves in the pocket like [Andres] Iniesta did. I’m a different kind of player.
“But yeah, I also have the same mentality as they had.”
Scoring just twice in an Arsenal shirt thus far, Arteta and the Emirates crowd will be desperate for Merino to even remotely emulate either Silva or Iniesta.
Merino identifies why he’s not been in good form
It’d be fair to suggest that the Spaniard hasn’t hit the ground running in Islington.
Struggling for form, Troy Deeney criticised Merino, suggesting he might not be good enough for Arsenal after he’d scored against Brentford over the festive period.
However, Mikel Arteta claimed Merino is improving and that he expects the former Real Sociedad man to kick on in the second half of the season.
The player himself has his own ideas as to why he’s not been at his best this term.
In the same interview with the Standard, he explained how he’s found it difficult to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League.
“When I came back, I didn’t have a proper pre-season to prepare my legs, to prepare my body, my lungs to this pacey league,” he said.
“But I think right now I’m reaching my best level in terms of physicality. And yeah, we’ll see in the future. Maybe what was a bad thing becomes a good one because at the end of the season, I’m the fresher one. Who knows?”
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