Mikel Merino believes Arsenal’s “special midfield” can live up to its potential now that Mikel Arteta has finally managed to get his first-choice combination on the pitch.
Wednesday night’s Champions League victory over Monaco was the first time that Merino, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice have started in the same Arsenal team.
Merino had been signed from Real Sociedad last summer with a view to playing as a natural left-sided No8, as Granit Xhaka had done with such success during the season before last.
However, the Spaniard picked up a shoulder injury during his first training session at London Colney and was ruled out for more than a month, slowing his adaptation to English football.
By the time he returned, captain Odegaard had been sidelined by an ankle problem, often leaving Rice playing alongside Thomas Partey at the base of midfield as Arteta adjusted his team’s shape.
Partey’s good form has seen him keep his place even since Odegaard’s return to fitness, but the Ghanaian was needed at right-back against Monaco amid a defensive injury crisis, leaving what most assumed would be Arteta’s preferred midfield for this season to play together at last, almost four months into the campaign.
“Today was a special midfield for the team and I felt really comfortable with those two,” Merino said. “They are top-class players. I think the three of us, we complement each other very well.
Making an impact: Mikel Merino is showing his worth to Arsenal after an injury-disrupted start in north London
Adam Davy/PA Wire
“We have different qualities and characteristics, but at the same time, we know how to play with each other. It's about timing and more time with each other to learn what we want and where we want the ball and the places where we are comfortable.”
A 3-0 win over the Ligue 1 side leaves Arsenal third in the Champions League’s long table and well on course to qualify directly for the last 16, with the top eight doing so and just two rounds of matches to go.
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The Gunners returned to Europe’s top competition last season, ending a six-year hiatus, and reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Bayern Munich.
The German side went on to lose to eventual winners Real Madrid, who continued their remarkable dominance with a 15th title and sixth in 11 years.
Spanish international Merino knows all about Los Blancos’ success and believes Arsenal must take a leaf out of the Real playbook if they are to lift the trophy for the first time ever.
“The Champions League is a competition where small details and boxes are the things that change the game and you have to be really good at that,” he explained. “Real Madrid have been amazingly good at that in the past few years and I think it's going to keep being like that.
“What I'm feeling right now is that the [Arsenal] team is a really mature team. Obviously, you're not going to have 90 minutes being on top of the opponent and just dominating and you will have phases where you will have to defend.
“In those phases where the team is maybe not in control of the game, we can manage it and I think the players are not panicking when they don't have the control of the game. So they are calm, composed and that's showing maturity in that aspect too.”