Mikel Merino effusive in praise for manager Arteta after making his debur for Arsenal after an injury layoff.
Mikel Merino says he is seeing football in a different way after his first month or so under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.
The Spanish midfielder made his club debut in the UCL game against PSG after an injury-enforced absence.
His first thoughts about his new team, in particular the rigorousness and intensity of the training, are similar to what Rice experienced upon joining from West Ham in the summer of the previous year.
Rice said he thought he knew about the game but “when you meet managers like Mikel [Arteta], you realise you don’t really know anything”. Merino has been similarly blown away even though he has spent most of his time on the outside of the sessions. The injury misfortune has perhaps offered him a different perspective.
“It’s something that is amazing” he said. “They do some things that I have never seen in my career. The methods they use are completely new to me so it takes some time to adapt. But at the same time, when you get it you are in a different level because they challenge you every single day – not only physically but mentally. It makes you be sharp mentally and that’s what you are going to find out in the game.
“I don’t want to tell everything that we do but there is no rest between one moment and the other. They are always challenging you mentally with different stimuluses. It makes you all the time aware of what is happening around you.”
Merino was a Euro 2024 champion when he joined Arsenal. His crowning achievement was winning the match against Germany with a header in the 119th minute. However, he was unexpectedly stopped in his tracks following an odd encounter with Gabriel Magalhães. Arteta claims that once Merino hit the ground, Gabriel tripped over him.
“It was such an unlucky moment,” Merino said. “I haven’t seen an injury like this. It was not the best timing but I like to look at the pros, the bright side of it. This gave me a lot of time to think, to get to know my teammates, to get to know the staff, to work on myself. The things that I need to do in terms of tactics, in terms of physicality. And I think I am a much better player now than I was four weeks ago.
“It was really tough mentally. To come in here, you want to have a nice few days to show everybody what you are capable of. To show why they have put faith in you. And then the first thing that happens is you break your scapula. But everybody in the club was really nice to me, really lovely, and finally I can say I am officially an Arsenal player now. I have made my debut and I am buzzing.”