Mikel Merino is always good value in front of the media. In this afternoon’s pre-Atletico Madrid presser the Spaniard reflected on Arsenal’s strong form, explained how Mikel Arteta gets the best out of his players, shared what he’s learned from the NFL, and backed Viktor Gyokeres to start finding the net soon.
On the start to the season…
An amazing start of the season for us. I think there’s always a lot of expectations on how the season starts. But to be honest, the most important thing is how it ends. It’s good that we are in a good momentum now. The team is full of confidence and we are in a good streak at the minute. But obviously, this is a long journey. The good thing is we are mentally ready to approach it and give the best of us.
On Arsenal having so many aerial threats and going against each other in training making them better…
Yeah, that’s one of the secrets, definitely. We have an amazing squad this year. We’ve made a lot of signings, which have brought the level even higher. And every training session is a challenge. It’s always good to have these good qualities around you that pushes you and makes you even better. So, yeah, it’s always good to push each other. The whole level of the squad and individually the players is going to go upwards. And that’s something that everyone will benefit from.
On Arteta saying he’s trying to be more calm on the touchline…
Well, you can see he is a really intense manager. He wants everything to go the right way. I see him as a really good character on the touchline. I think sometimes you need that intensity as a player. Also, the crowd can see that he is committing to the team and to the results. And in training sessions, you can see that fire as well. So that’s driving us. Yeah, it’s amazing to have someone that can show that body language in a good way when he wants to push you to get better. But also in the difficult moments when he’s calm and he can put the arm on your shoulder and say, hey, it’s now time to be together and push. So, yeah, I think he has done a great job lately in managing that character.
On Atletico Madrid being interested in signing him…
Well, it’s always rumours. There’s always talks in the transfer market window. There’s nothing new there for me. I know that every window is always a lot of speculation about it. But the thing I am most proud about is just to be around this family, be at this club. I have started this journey one year ago and I’m really, really happy to be here and to represent this club.
On his international scoring record improving as a result of his time at Arsenal…
In part, for sure. I think the way we train here, the way we prepare every game and every training session makes you adapt to every situation on the pitch. And maybe in a different moment in my career, I wasn’t used to being on the box as much. And obviously that time last year where I had to play as a striker, I think has helped me a lot in terms of identifying where to position myself in the box, where are the weaknesses of the centre-backs, what they like to do, what do they not. Every training session, every game is a chance to learn, a chance to improve. And I think I’ve used all those moments to become a threat now in the box, and I’m happy to be scoring goals and hopefully I can keep doing it.
On playing alongside Martin Zubimendi in a different environment…
It’s good. I’ve been playing with him under three different coaches now, national team, Sociedad and here. And obviously the relationship is the same, but there are little tweaks that you have to adapt to in terms of what the manager demands you to do. And it’s fun how you can adapt as a couple, as a partnership there and to have different relationships that you had in the past. But it’s always fun, it’s always great to play alongside players of that calibre. I’m really happy to be here with him on my team.
On Viktor Gyokeres’ adaptation…
Well, to be honest, I don’t think it’s taken a lot for him to adapt. I think he’s really good. He’s given us many, many options on and off the ball. The work rate that he puts on every single game, you have to see the data. It’s unbelievable how much he helps the team on and off the ball. Sometimes it’s unfair for the strikers because if you don’t score, it seems like you’re not doing anything, but he’s providing a lot for us. And I’m sure goals will come. I am sure that he wants to score as much as everyone else. But the main thing is to help the team. If the team wins, we are a team, we are a collective. I’m pretty sure he’s also happy that he’s providing the best performances on and off the ball for his teammates.
On adapting to the pace of the Premier League…
When everyone says that there’s a big difference and the Premier League pace is really high, it’s for a reason. And it’s true. The rhythm and the pace in the Premier League is high. The tempo is really high and everyone takes their chances they have to run and to go forward and sometimes it’s madness in the pitch. But you have to adapt to it in the best way possible. In La Liga, it’s a more tactical point of view of football. More collective, more being patient on the ball and trying to pass to each other. In the Premier League, it’s more about just going forward to the opposite goal and scoring as soon as possible. So, yeah, sometimes it’s tiring, but you have to keep up with the pace. I think if you want to be one of the best players in the world, you have to be able to play in all of the contexts.
On Arsenal’s defensive record this season…
First of all, it has to be from inside. You have to love to defend. You have to love to not concede goals. Sometimes everyone, maybe in different teams, the main focus is to score, maybe to make a beautiful pass and to enjoy the little highlights. But, to be honest, if you want to be a champion, you need to be really an all-around team. Defending is the main focus right now. If you can keep a clean sheet, the chances of you winning the game are massive. So, then obviously having such good quality players like we have and the mentality we all have as a team is crucial. And then it comes to training, it comes to everyone knowing his role, what he has to do, depending on who’s attacking you. It’s work that has to be done from everyone.
On examples of Arteta being fiery in training or putting his arm around the shoulder..
I can’t give you any examples. It depends on how you treat different players in different situations. During training, there are moments where the situation in the league tells you to maybe put some pressure on someone. Some of the times you have to manage things in a different way. That’s something that every great coach has done. And as a player, you understand that it’s necessary. And I think we are lucky because we have one of the best, if not the best coach in the world, not only tactically, but as well in managing the dressing room. And if you want to be a great coach, you have to manage the squad the right way and not every player is the same player. We have different personalities, different characters, and you have to approach every player in a different way.
So he’s really good at that.
On what, as an NFL fan, he’s lerned from the game that can be applied to football…
I mean, that’s a good question. I was lucky enough a couple of summers ago to be doing some commercial stuff with Defensive End from the [New Orleans] Saints, Cam Jordan. We spoke a lot about what type of movements he does, how he uses the hands and how he uses his body to get rid of the opponent. But also mentally, I think you can learn a lot, because in the NFL it’s one play at a time. And sometimes in football you get carried away by momentum, by the fans, or by the result, and you have to be focused on the next play. I think keeping the focus on the next action and what happened 10 seconds ago doesn’t matter is the main thing you can take away from the NFL as well.
On how much time is dedicated to set pieces when the schedule is so busy…
Well, unfortunately with the schedule we don’t have as much time as I’m sure Nico [Jover] would love to have. But of course, we pay attention to every single detail and with the small amount of time that we have, we try to make the best out of it, for sure.
On the support the team gives to Gyokeres…
What we do with Victor, for example, we try to show him love and try to support him. But it’s just the main mentality that we have as a team. Everyone needs that love, everyone needs to feel comfortable, to feel surrounded by nice people and a team that they can count on. So, Victor is just an example, but I think everyone is wishing him to keep doing what he’s doing. Obviously, if he scores goals, it’s even better for everyone and for him as well. But the main thing, as I said before, is that the team wins. And as long as the team is winning, he and everyone is going to be happy.
On whether Gyokeres will be a 20-goal per season striker for Arsenal…
He has the quality, for sure. He has the quality, he has the tools, the physicality. He has the players around him to feed him those balls. And it’s a matter of time that he’s going to score goals, that’s for sure. But, yeah, we cannot be focussing only on the numbers. I know nowadays, in modern football, numbers matter a lot. But if you see the games, you can see how much he gives us.
On Arsenal’s strong midfield options and his mentality when he is on the pitch…
Yeah, I mean, that was kind of the same topic as we were talking before about the depth in the squad. We have an amazing squad in every single position. We have top players. And in the midfield, it’s exactly the same. It’s tough to select who’s going to play for the coach because he has quality all over the squad. And whenever I’m not starting or whenever I’m starting, the mentality has to be the same. Try to help the team, impact in the way you can, not only with goals or assists, but also defensive rate, trying to be in the right spots for your teammates to be free sometimes. And, yeah, the mentality is as a whole, not try to be the main character in the play, but to play your role whenever he’s coming from the bench. Try to do it the best way possible and try to help the team achieve the most important thing, that is win. I see him pretty confident.
On whether Gyokeres is feeling the pressure…
I see him pretty confident, I think he’s a really confident guy. You can see him every day in training that he does the right thing. He scores goals. So as long as he keeps working, he keeps providing us with the best performances. I feel like he knows what he’s capable of. He has scored, I don’t know how many goals last season. So it’s not something you forget from one day to another. He’s going to be there. And we all trust him. We all know he’s a top class player. And I think that’s it.
On Atletico Madrid…
They’re a competitive team. They’re going to do everything with the ball. They’re a very hardworking team with a lot of quality. They play at a very high level. And we’re really concentrating on playing a really good game. Everyone knows the level that Atletico Madrid plays at. But we’re going in with a lot of confidence for the game tomorrow.