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Neil Warnock predicts what Arsenal will do with Mikel Merino against West Ham after his brace at Leicester

Giuseppe Labellarte

Thu 20 February 2025 19:15, UK

Arsenal have the opportunity of getting to within five points of Premier League leaders Liverpool when they host West Ham United on Saturday.

The Gunners have kept themselves in contention for the Premier League꧂ title with recent wins against Manchester City and Leicester City.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have drawn two of their last league games to keep Arsenal within touching distance of the Anfield outfit.

♏Arsenal also play before Liverpool on matchweek 26, with the Gunners hosting the Hammers on Saturday and the Reds facing Manchester City on Sunday.

Mikel Merino🐷 was the talk of the town after Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Leicester, coming off the bench to lead the line and scoring a brace.

Neil Warnock has now spoken about Merino and predicted what Mikel Arteta would do with him for the West Ham game.

READ MORE: ꦗArsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes shares what rival Premier League strikers have been saying to him at the end of matches

Neil Warnock predicts Mikel Merino will start on Arsenal bench against West Ham

♒Warnock, speaking on the David Seaman Says podcast, said he thinks Arteta will do the opposite of what the media has been clamouring for.

♓While some sections of the media have been calling for Merino to start, Warnock reckons Arteta will look to use him as an impact sub again.

🅷“I think when you’re like that and you haven’t got a striker which they haven’t now,” began Warnock.

𝕴“I think when somebody comes out and scores two like that… the media would be saying you’ve got to play him now because he scored two goals.

💙“I think as a manager you think ‘well, if we start off for an hour again, or 45 minutes, I’ve got him to change the game’.

🌠“Whereas I think that first, anybody up front for 45 minutes, play (Leandro) Trossard up front, whoever you want.”

ꦰThe discussion then speculated whether a player would be sulking if he didn’t get the chance to start after making such an impact.

🍰Warnock said: “Let me tell you this, nobody will be sulking at Arsenal! You don’t sulk when you’re up there in the league do you?

🦹“You worry about certain things and decisions, but you don’t sulk. If he put him on the bench again, it wouldn’t be any problem whatsoever would it?”

💮David Seaman then predicted that Merino would likely not be playing as a striker even if he did start, and is more likely to play at No. 10.

🔯“That’s why I think he’ll have him on the bench again,” concluded Warnock.

What Mikel Arteta said to Merino before his Leicester heroics

🎃Mikel Arteta only told Merino he’d be playing up front for Arsenal on the morningꦅ of the Leicester game, the player confirmed after the match.

🌞Arteta then revealed that he confidently told Merino he would score when he came on as a forward.

𒀰Arteta acknowledged that Merino had never played up front, but said the way the Spain international “can smell danger” and act on it is what prompted the decision.

💝When asked by TNT Sports what he had told Merino, Arteta replied: “That he was going to score.

🌠“He’s a real goal threat. The moment they started moving deeper and we were more set in the final third, we thought he could deliver those moments. But it’s easier to say it than get it done!

𓄧“Because of the height? They are very different. Mikel has never played as a nine. But he has that timing, that smell that he can smell danger, anticipate danger. And then he can execute it.

ꦚ“It was a lot of debate. I didn’t want to drive him crazy. I said to him this morning that he might play there, we believe he could sit there if the game needed the context. He won the game for us.”

🦂Arsenal fans were so impressed by Merino’s display that they compared him to Olivier Giroud.