Mikel Merino has become a goalscoring beast at Arsenal, but his ability in front of goal wasn’t always rated so highly.
Arsenal beat Slavia Prague 3-0 in the Champions League to maintain their perfect start, with the Spaniard scoring a brace.
Merino was called R9 by Gabriel Martinelli after the match, a nickname earned as the midfielder netted his 19th and 20th goals of 2025.
It’s been a stellar year for Merino in the final third for club and country, which has been quite the revelation.
What Rafa Benitez said about Mikel Merino when he was at Newcastle United
Spanish football fans are grateful to Mikel Arteta for his decision to test Merino as a striker back in February against Leicester City.
Merino didn’t expect to play as a striker that day, but he did and scored twice, which was the beginning of it all.
Arteta unlocked a new version of the ex-Real Sociedad midfielder, something that might’ve triggered his former clubs to consider why his strengths in the position were never tested.
What’s funny about Merino is that his goal-scoring attributes were actually recognised when he played in the Premier League for Newcastle United back in 2017.
After the Spain international scored a late winner for the Geordies against Crystal Palace, Rafa Benitez, his manager at the time, evaluated Merino’s capabilities in the final third.
“It’s not the main thing, the best thing he can do, he can pass the ball and he has scored for Spain’s Under-21s with his feet, but he’s not bad in the air,” Benitez told the media after the game [21/10/2017].
The coach doubled down on his opinion in reaction to Merino’s late header, “We have seen today he is not bad in the air.”
Looking at the version of the player that Arteta has unlocked, it’s quite humorous to look back at Benitez’s take, as describing the midfielder’s heading ability as ‘not bad’ is a huge understatement.
How many goals did Merino score before he joined Arsenal?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, as Benitez’s comments have aged rather funnily.
The former Newcastle manager was well within his rights to unintentionally downplay Merino’s goal-scoring ability, as his goal against Palace was his only one for the Magpies.
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Game to goal % |
| Real Sociedad | 242 | 27 | 11% |
| Osasuna | 67 | 8 | 11.1% |
| Arsenal | 59 | 12 | 20.3% |
| Newcastle Utd | 25 | 1 | 4% |
| Borussia Dortmund | 9 | 0 | 0% |
In fact, before joining Arsenal, Merino wasn’t known as a prolific goalscorer by any means, with the numbers telling the story of how he’s developed since being at the Emirates.
Arteta struck gold by turning his idea of Merino being a makeshift striker into reality, with the Gunners benefiting greatly from his transformation.
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