Mikel Arteta’s transfer plan at Arsenal was proven wrong against Man United – he was shown up

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Arsenal’s decisions in the summer transfer window have come under fire as the Gunners continue to struggle.

Arsenal lost on penalties to Manchester United in the FA Cup, ending another route to silverware for Mikel Arteta.

The cup loss comes after Arsenal’s humiliating defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup, putting pressure on Arteta. 

There’s a clear decline within the Arsenal squad since the Gunners finished just two points behind Manchester City last season, with a lot of emphasis put on the summer transfer window as a result.

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Mikel Merino struggles highlighted against Manchester United 

In the summer, Arsenal welcomed five new faces, with only one representing a forward as Raheem Sterling arrived on deadline day from Chelsea.

Aside from Sterling, who split opinion against United, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori were the only other outfield players welcomed by Arteta.

Arteta admitted he expects more from Merino, who has had a difficult start to life at Arsenal, as his performance against Man United highlighted.

Compared to the other midfielders on show, Merino was simply a passenger, recording only 30 touches on the ball compared to Jorginho’s 102 and Martin Odegaard’s 116.

Even Declan Rice, who replaced Merino from the bench, had more touches than the Spaniard, telling of how challenging the 28-year-old is finding adaptation to life at Arsenal.

What Arsenal wanted from Merino in the transfer window 

While the Spain international is not performing as expected, Merino mustn’t be seen as a scapegoat, purely because the midfielder has been assigned a role he cannot fulfil.

A recent insight from The Independent revealed what Arteta wanted from the summer transfer window, noting that the Arsenal manager wanted to bolster his midfield rather than his attack. 

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It was stated that Arteta’s ‘idea’ was to power Arsenal with ‘multiple possible tactical configurations in midfield’ to trick the opposition, something Merino, and his teammates, are not fulfilling.

Fans see what’s on the pitch and when reflecting on the transfer window, the early conclusion is that the Gunners spent £31m on Merino instead of the front line.

There’s hope that the Euro 2024 winner can soon hit his best levels at Arsenal however, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Arteta isn’t playing to the Spaniard’s strengths, which is detrimental to both the player and the squad.