The Spanish international was desperately unfortunate to suffer a freak shoulder injury in his first training session after signing from Real Sociedad. The lengthy time out has left plenty of question marks hanging over the 28-year-old - namely, where he will fit in to the Arsenal midfield. Mikel Arteta has given us a bit of a clue.
"First, he is going to bring an unbelievable football brain," the Arsenal boss said when asked what his namesake would offer the side. "He is so intelligent, the way he decides, he occupies spaces, he makes decisions and it is very rare to see that. He is a really talented player in every phase - defending and attacking.
"He can do things that compliments really well with the qualities we have in midfield. [He will bring] physicality, for sure, and then he is a big threat. The moment he is in the opponent’s box, you see that he is a big, big threat."
There were a few loose touches, but after nearly three months without football you could forgive the Spaniard that. What was as sharp as ever was his ability in the duels. One late sliding tackle on the halfway line drew a raucous reaction from the watching Arsenal fans. Arteta was just as delighted.
"He had just one session with us [before tonight] and he was ready," Arteta said in his post-match press conference. "He was really willing to be part of things today. With the injuries and the changes that we had to make we believed that he was a player who could help us in that phase. I think he’s done really well."
Merino's ability to get up to speed is no coincidence. During his time off the pitch the 28-year-old has been studying his new teammates and settling in to his new club.
“It was such an unlucky moment,” Merino said of his injury on Tuesday night. “If you see the action…it’s just…I mean…I haven’t seen an injury like this ever in my career. But, well, these are things that happen. Obviously, it was not the best timing, but at the same time I like to look at the pros, the bright side of it.
“This gave me a lot of time to think, to get to know my team-mates, to get to know the staff, to work on myself, the things that I need to do in terms of tactics, in terms of physicality and I think I am a much better player now than I was four weeks ago.
“Everybody here in the club was really nice to me, really lovely, you could feel the love and support of everybody. Obviously, that helped me a lot in the recovery and finally, I can say I am officially an Arsenal player now! I have made my debut and I am buzzing.”
Interestingly we also got an insight into what position Merino will play in the Arsenal midfield. The Spaniard is capable of playing as an eight or a six, but if Tuesday night is anything to go by it will the former.
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