Mikel Merino has revealed that Arsenal practised something in training which emphatically paid off in their 1-0 win over Chelsea.
Merino’s first-half header against the Blues proved to be the only goal of the game as Mikel Arteta’s team attempt to keep chipping away at Liverpool’s lead at the top.
Despite collecting another three points, the gap to Arne Slot’s side is 12 and remains a rather daunting task to overturn.
Going into the London derby, the match-winner has explained what Arsenal did in training the day before which worked to perfection against Chelsea.
Mikel Merino’s brilliant winning goal for Arsenal vs Chelsea
Mikel Merino scored his sixth goal of the season with a brilliantly headed goal from an Arsenal corner.
Martin Odegaard floated the ball into the six-yard box which the Spaniard ran on to, looping his header across goal and into the far corner.
Merino, who Mikel Arteta praised, started his run level with the penalty spot which left the Blues’ backline unaware of his threat and managed to superbly flick on the ball over Robert Sanchez’s head.
Mikel Merino on Arsenal’s corner routine vs Chelsea
The Spanish makeshift centre forward has revealed how Arsenal practised the corner routine in training which produced the winning goal against Chelsea.
When asked if the goal was a set piece they had worked on in training, Merino told Stadium Astro: “Actually yes, this was the set piece we practised yesterday – it went the way we wanted it to go.
“This is just a header that I know how to do because when I was younger, my father was one of the best headers of the ball I’ve seen. He was really great at doing this kind of flick as well in his time as a player, so I just borrowed this goal from him.
“First time we tried it in training, it went in the goal, not in the same corner, but it went pretty much the same.”
