Mikel Arteta appraised the contributions of Mikel Merino against Brentford.
The Spaniard started as the central forward again for the Gunners, and he grabbed another headed goal to put them on their way to three points. His aerial presence and finishing have been valuable assets in the role, but Arteta also appreciates his willingness to contribute towards the collective.
“He was immense again. The way he scored, super smart. His timing, the way he wins the position and execution. But his overall performance, with the ball, without the ball.
“I remember an action that he passed the ball to Martin in behind. Martin doesn't chase it, he makes 40 metres to chase it to the corner flag and goes back, wins the ball back. He is everywhere and his goal, with that really good momentum at the moment - he makes the team much better.
*“The whole summer I was thinking, if we bring in a nine, what was going to happen with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz? I have a lot of nines. I like them so much as well. What are we going to do?*
“How are we going to handle it? So far, we haven't had a problem because they've been injured. So live the present, live the moment and deal with the situation when it comes.
*“It's curiosity and will to learn and his will to help the team. He knew that we had a major problem from the beginning of the season. We lost Viktor Gyokeres, Kai was out and Gabriel Jesus was out.*
“So we needed a solution. He did it last year really, really well. I think this season he's probably taking it to another step because he's able to do even more things. So I think the team is really grateful and he's enjoying it.”