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Paul Merson blasted Mikel Arteta for making one big Arsenal change in February, he couldn’t have been more wrong

Shamanth Jayaram

Mon 21 April 2025 21:15, UK

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta rarely ever gets things wrong.

Yes, the Spaniard often makes decisions that leave many people scratching their heads, but more often than not, he comes out looking like a genius.

Choosing David Raya over Aaron Ramsdale is one such example, while pushing Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of the club are two others.

Arteta was proven right on all of those occasions, but pundits still continue to have a go at him when they don’t understand what he’s trying to do.

Once such incident happened in February. Paul Merson had a go at the Arsenal boss, but looking back now, it was he who was wrong.

What Paul Merson said about Arsenal star Mikel Merino in February

Arsenal signed Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad last summer.

The Spain international was brought in by Arteta to bolster his midfield, but his start to life in the famous red and white wasn’t easy.

Merino suffered an injury in his very first training session, and it took him a while to get going in Arteta’s system in the middle of the park.

But, following injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, Arteta decided to deploy Merino up top, and the Spaniard scored twice in his first appearance in that position.

Arteta then decided to use Merino as a striker in the very next game, but that really confused Merson, who had a go at the Arsenal manager back in February.

He said: “Arsenal were fortunate last week, let’s be honest. At 0-0, they made Leicester look decent. Merino comes on and scores two very good goals.

“It’s a hard position to play, centre forward, there aren’t a lot of them around. To just throw people up there and expect them to do the magic, for me, is mind-blowing.

“He looked like a fish up a tree. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to him, he’s a holding midfield player. You just can’t do that. I worry for Arsenal now.”

Paul Merson was so wrong to criticise Mikel Arteta’s Merino decision

Arteta didn’t throw Merino up top coz he wanted to try something new – he did because his two natural strikers suffered season-ending injuries.

The Euro 2024 winner had never played in that position before, so it was a big risk, but Arteta’s decision to persist with him there has proved to be a genius move.

Merino has been sensational for Arsenal up top.

Nine direct goal contributions in 10 games is a fantastic record for anyone, let alone someone who only started playing as a striker in February.

Arteta deserves all the praise in the world for his decision, and Merino is worthy of all the plaudits as well for understanding the role and delivering there – even against the big sides.

Merson’s comments look really silly now – we’re sure he’ll hold his hands up and admit that he was wrong if he reads them back.