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Jamie Carragher now does a U-turn on £27m Arsenal player vs Ipswich after saying his signing was a ‘mistake’

Srinivas Sadhanand

Sun 20 April 2025 16:50, UK

Arsenal used their momentum from beating Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu to punish Ipswich Town as they won 4-0 at Portman Road.

There were plenty of positives and negatives to take for Arsenal as they guaranteed that Liverpool would not win the Premier League title on Sunday if they beat Leicester City.

Starting with the bad news, Bukayo Saka was walking gingerly after Arsenal defeated Ipswich off the back of Leif Davis’ reckless challenge on him that earned the English defender a red card.

But the positives were Leandro Trossard, who scored a brilliant brace and Mikel Merino, who assisted Gabriel Martinelli’s goal with a sumptuous back-heeled flick.

Jamie Carragher dubbed Merino’s signing a “mistake” earlier this year but he had a change of heart after watching him impress once again in an Arsenal shirt against Ipswich.

• READ MORE: Jamie Carragher says whether Leif Davis deserved a red card after stamping on Bukayo Saka in Ipswich v Arsenal

Jamie Carragher calls Mikel Merino a “revelation” after Ipswich Town vs Arsenal

Carragher was full of praise for Merino as Arsenal vanquished Ipswich on Sky Sports.

Jamie Carragher pinpointed how Merino has six goals and four assists in his last 13 games for Arsenal, which shows how much he has progressed since his slow start as was on display against Ipswich.

The Liverpool legend said on : “I just look at Merino, he’s been a revelation since he took on that striker role. 

“I know he’s deeper [in midfield] today, but in the last 13 games he has six goals and four assists.”

Mikel Merino stats for Arsenal vs Ipswich

The £27.4 million ) man will be proud of himself for continuing to work his socks off and make himself an important player in this Gunners side.

Arsenal midfielder Merino has well and truly proven Jamie Carragher wrong and his stats against Ipswich sum up why that is the case.

In possession, the Spaniard was extremely efficient, managing to touch the ball just 32 times and still manage to register a wonderful assist.

But it is off the ball where Merino truly stood out.

The former Real Sociedad dynamo won a staggering 10 out of the 17 duels he contested and was not even dribbled past once.

Mikel Arteta predicted Merino to succeed and his eye for talent deserves credit as he has become a vital player for Arsenal during the second half of the season especially.