Spirits were high in Arsenal training earlier this week – and it’s no surprise after Mikel Arteta’s side earned a vital 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday.
The Gunners, who were missing FOUR first-team attackers ahead of the trip to the King Power Stadium, squeezed past Leicester thanks to a late brace from substitute Mikel Merino.
The former Real Sociedad man was called upon midway through the second half after Arsenal struggled to break down a stubborn Foxes defence. And Merino was what the Gunners needed, as he gave them the lead in the 81st minute, before tapping home his and their second seven minutes later.
It was a result that moved Arsenal to within four points of leaders Liverpool, who opened that gap back up to seven with a 2-1 win against Wolves on Sunday. Although it doesn’t feel like the Gunners are getting any closer to Arne Slot’s high-flying side, there is confidence that they can still win the Premier League title.
And following their third successive Premier League win, the mood was high in the Arsenal camp in training on Monday – with Merino getting special attention after his two-goal haul. In fact, when the Gunners were doing a ‘piggy-back’ exercise, Arteta decided to get the in-form Merino on his back.
A clip from Sky Sports showed Merino and Arteta get close as the bond continues to grow following his rescue act against Leicester. As for the others, Gabriel was denied the chance to get on the back of a first-team coach, while Kieran Tierney and Merino were later spotted hugging each-other.
Merino was required up front against Leicester after Raheem Sterling failed to impress. With Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli out, Ethan Nwaneri, Leandro Trossard and Sterling started as the front three but that didn’t work – as Merino replaced Sterling in the 69th minute.
Arteta might need to use Merino in the No.9 during the next couple of matches, at least until Martinelli and Saka return to fitness. And the Arsenal boss was quizzed about whether Spain international Merino was the answer up front in his post-match press conference. Arteta said: “We’re going to have to share that, we know that.
“We’re going to have various contexts; sometimes we’re going to have to make a sub because a player isn’t performing, or because the opposition is doing something else, or because someone’s a yellow card, or it’s fatigue, that’s going to restrict what we do really in terms of the personnel. We have prepared for different scenarios then those have to work, hopefully they will work as good as Mikel worked today. “
