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Opinion
Mikel Arteta needs to avoid making a big mistake with Mikel Merino for Arsenal vs PSG in the Champions League
If Thomas Partey hadn’t picked up a needless yellow card in Arsenal’s second leg against Real Madrid, Mikel Arteta’s team selection would be pretty straight forward.
Arsenal were unchanged in both legs of their quarter-final against Madrid and Mikel Merino was leading the line up top.
However, Partey will be suspended and unavailable when Paris Saint-Germain arrive in north London next week.
Arsenal now want to give Partey a new contract on the back of his excellent performances this season and he will be sorely missed against PSG.
And perhaps the most likely solution will be to drop Merino back into the number eight role, with Declan Rice then predominantly acting as a defender at the base of Arteta’s midfield.
Mikel Merino can’t play in midfield against PSG
Although, on evidence of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace — Arteta could be making a big mistake.
If Merino is playing in midfield, Leandro Trossard will come in as Arsenal’s number nine, a winger who has been in fine goalscoring form recently.
READ MORE: Why Arsenal now have serious ‘concerns’ about signing Matheus Cunha from Wolves this summer
However, in a disappointing performance against Palace, Arsenal seriously lacked a focal point.
Arteta’s team didn’t have an option to go long and it was also evident that Arsenal were missing Merino’s presence at set-pieces.
Under Nicola Jover, Arsenal are always praised in dead ball situations, however, Arteta’s team looked unusually vulnerable against Palace.
Merino would obviously still be able to provide that side of his game were he playing in midfield, but Arsenal would be sacrificing a lot by losing him as a striker.
That being said, Arteta needs to resist any temptation to drop Merino into midfield against PSG — even if it means making changes elsewhere.
Myles Lewis-Skelly could be Arsenal’s solution
Of course, Arteta said Myles Lewis-Skelly could play in midfield against PSG to cover Partey’s absence.
It wouldn’t be ideal to move the 18-year-old away from his left-back role where he’s been playing so brilliantly, but Arsenal might have either Riccardo Calafiori or Ben White fit to come into their back line.
Lewis-Skelly could either play as a number six or an eight in the middle, possibly allowing Rice to continue in an advanced role.
And if Jorginho is actually fit for the first leg, he might just be able to simply replace Partey in the pivot.
It’s a tricky problem for Arteta to solve, but ones that Arsenal fans can trust their manager to ultimately get right.