It rather slipped under the radar that Mikel Merino was elected to Arsenal’s leadership group over the summer.
The Spaniard is one of several deputies to Martin Odegaard and wore the captain’s armband for the first time in October’s League Cup win over Brighton. Given he had only been at the club for a year when the squad vote took place, it speaks volumes about the respect he has already earned in the dressing room.
At 29, Merino is the fifth-oldest member of the squad, but his experience goes well beyond his years. He left Spain early to forge a career at Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle before spending six seasons at Real Sociedad, a journey that has given him a worldliness that carries weight in a squad packed with young players.
It helps, too, that he is a European Championship winner with Spain and the son of Angel Merino, who enjoyed a long and distinguished career in La Liga.
On Tuesday, after taking part in a range of activities at _The Arsenal Hub_, home of _Arsenal in the Community_, Merino spoke exclusively to _Arseblog News_ about the figures who have shaped his career.
“I’ve had some amazing role models throughout my career. I’ve always been one that knew that he had to learn from the veterans, to learn from the guys that have been around for a long time.
“But obviously, the main person in my life has been my father, also my mother. But related to football, my dad told me everything I know, all the values about respect, about effort, about leadership, about teamwork.
“I’m nothing by myself. I need my teammates. I need the people around me. So right now, to be one of the leaders in the leadership group, it means a lot.”
Merino’s father coached Osasuna’s youth and reserve teams while he was coming through the ranks, a situation that understandably carried a certain cachet among his friends. For Merino, though, the appeal lay elsewhere.
“I used to go and see him \[his father\] and see the training sessions and everything. And I remember all my teammates, all their friends from my age, they wanted signatures or they wanted pictures and I wasn’t very interested in that.
“Obviously, I was around those players a lot, but I was more interested in seeing them train, in asking questions, in being around and just watching what they were doing.
“I was lucky enough to have those role models and they inspired me to be a footballer one day.
“Right now, I’m in that position and I want to inspire young players or young people to follow football with the right mentality, with the right values. And not only playing football to become a superstar, but also using football as a tool to integrate yourself into society.”
Asked about former captains and what he learned from them, Merino reels off names from his Osasuna days, Roberto Torres, Oier Sanjurjo and the Flaño brothers before reflecting on a short but formative spell in Germany.
“When I moved to Dortmund, I remember Marcel Schmelzer being an amazing leader.
“I remember one game I played really, really bad. Or I didn’t play bad. I made a big mistake. And afterwards I played really good.
“The next day I was a little worried about it because obviously I was a young player, I’ve made a big mistake, but I got a text saying that he was proud of me because of the way I reacted after the mistake.
“That’s something I took very personal. Like I said, ‘Wow, this is really comforting.’ This is reinforcing. And that’s one of the examples I try to follow in terms of being a good leader, paying attention to the small details and not only be focused on yourself.”
Spending time with Merino in person only affirms the ‘school captain’ energy he projects in press conferences. At the same time, when he momentarily struggles to find the right English word, he’s visibly annoyed with himself, to the point of unnecessary embarrassment. There are no airs and graces here, and you sense that humility has not gone unnoticed by his teammates.
On earning their trust so quickly, he said: “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I was just trying to be myself. I knew I had a lot of information in my head to give to my teammates. I wasn’t looking for the leadership group or whatever role.
“I was just trying to be myself, trying to help the younger kids, trying to help my teammates, give them my experience and give them my point of view. And I guess they just liked it because they got me into the leadership group, and that’s reinforcing my mentality.
“Now I know they trust me. Sometimes I’m going to say good things to them. Sometimes you have to talk about the difficult stuff, like when you’re not performing the right way or when you’re behaving in a way that is not perfect.
“You have to also be the bad guy sometimes. And it’s something that the leadership group has to do. And yeah, I’m happy I’m the one that’s doing it.”
It’s not hard to imagine Merino in the dugout when he eventually hangs up his boots. His love for the game runs deeper than tactics or systems, although his recent spell as an auxiliary striker suggests he’s got an eye for detail there too. More than anything, he understands what it means to be part of a team.
Asked what advice he’d give to youngsters trying to make their way in the game, he pauses.
“That’s difficult, I could be sitting here talking a long day. But yeah, I would say just to be humble, first of all. Know your place.
“You’re a young player coming with the first team or you’re trying to make your way up. So try to learn as much as possible. You don’t know all the answers. And that’s something I took very firmly during my career. Listening to the old guys, trying to learn.
“Work hard as well. You go nowhere without working hard. And also try to be confident. One mistake doesn’t make you the worst in the world. And one good action doesn’t make you the best.
“I think finding that balance between being humble, having confidence and working hard. Yeah, those are the keys.”
If leadership is about setting standards through actions as much as words, Merino seems to have found that balance already.
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**For more from Mikel Merino, please check out our feature on the work done by _Arsenal in the Community_ at _The Arsenal Hub_. _[Click here.](https://arseblog.news/2025/12/inside-the-arsenal-hub-where-the-club-meets-its-community/)_**