Merino could be key as Arsenal face nine games in 28 days

Credit: Getty Images

Arsenal are about to enter one of the most demanding stretches of their season, with nine games in 28 days beginning when Premier League action resumes against Leeds on Saturday, October 10.

And according to football.london, Mikel Merino could become Arteta's most valuable asset across that run — not just as a midfielder, but as an emergency option further forward.

The numbers behind Merino's No.9 experiment

Signed from Real Sociedad in 2024 in a deal worth just under £32million, Merino has 16 goals and eight assists under Mikel Arteta. The most unexpected chapter of his Arsenal career came in 2024/25, when a striker injury crisis pushed the Spaniard into a centre-forward role for the first time in his career.

He has now made 23 appearances as a striker for the Gunners, returning 10 goals and six assists. That works out at a goal contribution rate of 0.7 per appearance in the role — ahead of Kai Havertz (0.62) and Viktor Gyokeres (0.41).

This season, however, all six of Merino's appearances have come in midfield, including a goalscoring outing against Ipswich in the Carabao Cup when he wore the captain's armband.

Havertz blow opens the door

The 30-year-old's versatility has suddenly become more relevant. Havertz limped off on international duty with Germany with a hamstring issue and is potentially facing a few weeks out, thinning Arteta's options in the final third just as the fixture pile-up begins.

Gyokeres has been in impressive form for Sweden over the break and is expected to lead the line against Leeds. But with nine fixtures crammed into four weeks, rotation is inevitable and Merino's minutes — wherever they come — should increase significantly.

His international form has done his case no harm. Merino picked up an assist against Croatia and then scored in Spain's 3-1 win over Czechia on Saturday, continuing a pattern of making an impact whether starting or arriving from the bench. He could feature again on Tuesday when Spain face Croatia, who were beaten heavily by England in their last outing.

Arteta's glowing verdict

The Arsenal manager has never hidden his admiration for the midfielder. "He's unbelievable," Arteta said. "First of all, he's one of the most intelligent players that I've seen and I've worked with. Then the personality is just full of… I don't know, he just wants to give for everybody. He thinks about everything, he thinks about everybody."

He added: "He has qualities that are unique in football and in our team, his capacity to arrive in the box, he's capable of occupying different places, to play in different positions, to link play with people.

"And as a midfielder, the ability that he has to score goals like tonight is a different one that we've seen lately, but another incredible one."

Arteta will be hoping his internationals return to north London without further issues before the Leeds match. Over the next month, Merino's ability to cover two very different roles could shape how Arsenal navigate the schedule.