It’s a story of two Mikels and one came to the rescue of the other. Arsenal’s season had been plagued with injuries, with its forward line being the worst hit. Gabriel Jesus’s season was already over due to an ACL injury and Kai Havertz was out for the season too. Trossard started the game upfront and during the fag end of the match, Mikel Arteta introduced summer-signing Mikel Merino as it was still even-stevens.
The 21-minute cameo from the 28-year-old Spaniard won it for his countryman, as Merino struck the net twice. What’s more remarkable is his xG, which stands at only 0.74. Has Arteta got his temporary no.9?
Mikel Merino was a much-hyped incoming for Arsenal last summer. It was believed that the former Real Sociedad man was the last piece of the puzzle Arteta needed to fix the hole in the midfield. However, he was off to a slow start. Just 8 starts in the first 25 games in PL, managing barely 759 minutes. It included 2 goals and 1 assist.
But Merino’s life at Emirates has changed overnight. His brace against Leicester City didn’t only win Arteta a much-needed 3pts but also gave a major confidence boost to all the Gunners out there. With no Saka, no Martinelli, there is a serious dearth of options in the attacking third at the moment. Now, in Merino, they have found another trusted goal-getter.
The sample-size may be too small but Arteta really doesn’t have a lot of options to choose from so far as his no.9 for the next few gameweeks is concerned. Trossard has played there earlier but he couldn’t capitalise on the chances apart from providing an assist to Merino.
I am expecting Arteta to start Merino as the no.9 in the relatively easy-fixture against West Ham United at home. Ethan Nwaneri, who remains an excellent choice for your fifth midfielder in fantasy, should retain his position on the right wing. On the other hand, Trossard may replace Sterling on the left flank.
With the quality Arsenal still has in its midfield and attacking third, Merino will enjoy a steady supply of balls. He has shown against Ruud’s struggling Leicester that he can finish with composure and is likely to offer attacking returns in the second consecutive match.
Merino has scored 40 goals and registered 37 assists in his club football career and the stunning cameo against Leicester may be surprising but it was no fluke. At £6m, he could be a great differential in Fantasy Premier League 2024-25, as only 0.4% of the FPL managers have the Spain international in their squad at the time of writing.
I see no harm in signing the new MM23 goal-machine before gameweek 26. If you have the risk appetite, then feel free to join Arteta in looking up to Merino for goals and attacking returns. He may give you unexpected dividends in terms of fantasy points, which might be enough to topple your opponents in the FPL mini-leagues.
