The good Arsenal striker disaster of 2025 has introduced loads of focus onto Mikel Merino, who has been foisted into the limelight as an emergency striker. I can not recall a interval of my Arsenal supporting life that left the squad with out an accessible striker. In January 2000, I recall going to Outdated Trafford and having to make use of Freddie Ljungberg as a second striker.
Kanu was at AFCON, Suker was suspended and Bergkamp was injured. Thierry Henry was nonetheless match for that sport, the query was merely who would line up because the second striker in a 442. Equally, in January 2004, Arsene Wenger gave Thierry Henry a few weeks off because the Gunners negotiated a trio of cup video games in opposition to Middlesbrough.
Wiltord and Kanu had been injured so, once more, the query was who would line up forward of Dennis Bergkamp upfront. Because it turned out, Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires performed as alternating false 9s. I feel that is the form of mannequin I might favour with the return of Gabriel Martinelli to the squad.
Arsenal’s striker disaster has been completely compounded by accidents to Saka and Martinelli, the concept this crew would line up with a entrance three of Sterling, Merino and Tierney for a Champions League knockout sport was completely infeasible even a number of quick weeks in the past. I feel now I would favor for some flavour of Martinelli and Trossard rotating between left-wing and centre-forward.
Merino has performed upfront as a result of, firstly, he has an analogous body to Kai Havertz and an analogous propensity to win duels. He’s reduce out for the bodily facet of being a centre-forward. Secondly, he doesn’t but have a hard and fast place elsewhere within the crew, so enjoying him as a centre-forward has not concerned eradicating a key piece from elsewhere within the crew.
The issue is, completely understandably, Merino simply doesn’t have the on-ball choreography, the sixth sense for when to maneuver into the channels and join with the vast gamers or make himself a sounding board as Havertz does. Merino helped create Zinchenko’s purpose in opposition to PSV on Wednesday night by profitable a flick on from a Raya lengthy go and that’s the form of work that Mikel Arteta will admire.
Since his two-goal cameo from the bench at Leicester, Merino has supplied little direct purpose menace. His purpose menace from midfield depends on late arrival into the penalty space, working from behind the ball. In actual fact, each his objectives in opposition to Leicester form of appear to be they had been scored by an attacking midfielder.
The primary one is the form of purpose I very a lot envisage him scoring in his pure left eight place. The second that afternoon got here from a run from deep on the counter. Merino’s common XG per 90 this season is 0.24. In his final 5 appearances, all of which have been upfront, that has dropped to a median of 0.14 per 90. He’s producing much less particular person purpose menace.
However clearly, loads of his job is making a presence that helps others to provide purpose menace. Arsenal have been extra aggressive with their full-backs in latest weeks and when Riccardo Calafiori performs, he has a really freeform jazz interpretation of the left-back function and Arteta has unmoored him to have the ability to noodle away within the opposition half.
Calafiori’s final 5 performances have yielded a shot each 48 minutes on common. Merino is averaging a shot each 69 minutes throughout the identical 5 sport subset. However it isn’t simply Calafiori who has an elevated license to invade the opponent’s penalty space and to get round and past Merino.
Declan Rice has scored in his final two video games and that isn’t a coincidence. After final week’s 7-1 demolition of PSV within the Netherlands, I used to be struck watching the highlights at how typically Rice was mainly within the centre-forward place for a lot of of Arsenal’s objectives. I took some display caps.
Watching the objectives again from Tuesday and Rice’s superior place in lots of them actually struck me.
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— Tim Stillman (@tim-stillman.bsky.social) March 7, 2025 at 7:14 AM
You may see that Rice has been given a much more attacking transient in the course of the nice Arsenal striker famine. Final season, Declan managed seven objectives and eight assists within the Premier League that are very robust attacking numbers for a participant extra famend for his out of possession qualities.
At Outdated Trafford he made a robust assist run and lashed dwelling cutback from contained in the field. On Wednesday in opposition to PSV, he as soon as once more made a late supporting run to move dwelling a Raheem Sterling cross. He’s at present fulfilling the Lampard / Gerrard / David Platt / Bryan Robson (delete as age dictates) transient very properly.
This piece from Ali Tweedale at Opta actually units it out. Of Rice’s efficiency at Outdated Trafford, Ali writes, ‘Solely Martin Ødegaard (38) accomplished extra passes within the last third than him (36), whereas Rice additionally led the best way for touches within the opposition field (six). His complete of 16 progressive carries – shifting with the ball at the very least 5 metres in direction of the opposition’s purpose – was additionally the very best of each participant on the pitch.’
Later within the piece, Ali writes, ‘He made extra off-the-ball runs into the opposition’s field (9) than every other participant.’ Long term, it does make me suppose that the ‘left eight’ function may simply be one of the best one for Rice within the long-term because it extra totally makes use of his broad skillset. I feel he may / can play as a six however I concern it’s a limiting function for a real box-to-box participant who carries a lot field crashing menace.
That could be a query that may look ahead to the summer season, nonetheless. For now, Arsenal have a mannequin the place Merino’s transient is to occupy defenders, come quick every now and then and permit runners to go previous him. Rice and Calafiori are typically the 2 on the moped dashing to Merino’s facet, whereas Odegaard and Nwaneri are a bit extra thought of on the best.
The irritating factor about analysing this incarnation of the Arsenal assault is that none of it has a long-term future. We’re very a lot in make do and mend territory. Merino will virtually definitely by no means play on this function once more for the membership after Might, Tierney and Sterling can be gone, Zinchenko will possible go and subsequently deploying him in midfield just lately appears to be extra about filling in blanks than real experimentation.
Nonetheless, within the debate about what Declan Rice is, or what he ultimately seems to be on this Arsenal crew, this spell has some use for the supervisor past fielding heat our bodies. Rice appears to be like increasingly more, to my eyes anyway, like a real field to field midfielder (for all of the predictable grief he bought for celebrating his purpose at Outdated Trafford final week, he celebrated his final ditch deal with much more vociferously).
Necessity has proved to be the mom of invention for Mikel Arteta in latest weeks however everyone knows that gaffer tape is just not a long-term development resolution. Declan Rice’s renaissance, nonetheless, might need long term ramifications as Arteta designs the following part of his Arsenal crew.
