Arsenal take on Brentford in the Premier League, and Thomas Frank has been studying the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s side are on cloud nine after demolishing Real Madrid in the Champions League. They were absolutely fantastic at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
Declan Rice’s two stunning free-kicks has received most of the plaudits, and rightly so, but Mikel Merino deserves a lot of praise as well.
The Spaniard continued his good run up front by scoring another goal. It was a lovely finish and perhaps pushed the game away from Real Madrid’s reach.
Here’s what Frank has observed about him.
Thomas Frank delivers verdict on Mikel Merino playing as a striker
Injuries have really hurt Arsenal this season.
The Gunners lost both Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz to season-ending injuries in the space of about six weeks, and that left them striker-less.
Many fans will tell you that the club’s decision not to bring in a new number nine in January is the biggest reason why they are set to miss out on the Premier League title.
Arteta has had to force Merino to play up top as a result, and to everyone’s surprise, the Spanish midfielder has performed really well.
Frank has been impressed with Merino too, but he has asked his Brentford players to be aware of one thing when they take on Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday.
He said in his press conference, as relayed on HaytersTV: “I think Merino has done very well. I think he’s actually very good in the box, finding good positions and has got great heading abilities.
“Without saying he’s a clear false number nine, because he’s a midfielder rather than a striker, and with him jogging into midfield, we need to be aware of that, if he starts.”
Mikel Merino’s stats since he started playing as a striker will blow your mind
Merino has been a revelation up front for Arsenal.
The Spaniard is not as elegant as someone like Alexander Isak up top, but he is still doing a job for the Gunners – a better one than some of the most established attackers in the world.
| Games | Goals | |
| Mikel Merino | 10 | 6 |
| Alexander Isak | 10 | 5 |
| Mohamed Salah | 10 | 5 |
| Harry Kane | 10 | 5 |
The fact that Merino is scoring goals as a striker is incredible on its own, but to be outperforming massive names like Isak, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah takes him to a whole new level.
Arsenal definitely still need a new striker, but Merino deserves all the praise in the world for performing as well as he has done over the last 10 games.
