Mikel Merino will undoubtedly require time and patience from Arsenal fans in order to meet expectations. Merino made his first Arsenal start on Saturday, although it was not in ideal circumstances. He did so in a game in which the Gunners had to play with one less man due to William Saliba’s red card, and he also did so without his dream partner Martin Odegaard (who he did play with at Real Sociedad).
Prior to that game, Merino had produced some excellent cameo performances against PSG and Southampton, and many anticipated him to be an instant hit, but he wasn’t.
Speaking on Premier League productions, Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit stated that Merino has clearly not entirely transitioned to the Premier League. He noted that since the Premier League is faster than La Liga, the Spaniard may need to be quicker about his actions.
“For me, at the moment, Merino hasn’t totally adapted to English football. The pace and the intensity,” the 1998 World Cup winner said.
“When you play for Spain or when you play in Spain, you have some time when you receive the ball and you have a few seconds to think about it and what you are going to do with the ball. In the Premier League, you have no time to think about that.”
He added, “I am totally confident he can adapt himself to the Premier League.”
Merino, who has already played in the Premier League with Newcastle United, should know what to do to reach the level required to be a success in Arsenal’s colors. The plan was for him to play as an LCM, but he didn’t have the ideal conditions on Saturday; perhaps when Arsenal plays next, the conditions will be more favourable for him to emerge as the LCM Arsenal desperately needed after the Granit Xhaka era.
