Mikel Merino (now playing for Arsenal)

[Wallsendmag]

 

 

He's just a proper midfielder compared to the s*** we have been used to.

 

I often wonder these days if the likes of Colback, Gouffran & Anita have skewed our vision so much that a player comes along, does the basics well and we instantly think he's a world beater

 

Nah we've had some pretty good technical midfielders in recent years to judge against, namely Cabaye and Wijnaldum.  Even Sissoko probably wasn't as bad as people made out.

[triggs]

He rightly should play only two more seasons for us if he continues giants progress like this.  All top teams need a player like him badly, including Barcelona. Flawless holding midfielder who can shine in both attack and defense.

 

I never thought we could get a player more talented than Ben Arfa, but seems we get one now, at least on par with.

Nah, he's good like but nah

[Dave]

Some of the posts in here man.

 

Four games in and people are talking about him leaving. We're absolutely pathetic.

[yplasterer]

I thought he was great, although everything is finite and every single person I love will, one day, perish.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Some of the posts in here man.

 

Four games in and people are talking about him leaving. We're absolutely pathetic.

 

Anah.

 

It doesn't need to be said, it's not like it's news to anyone. Four games and we're already not allowed to enjoy him without someone reminding us that bigger teams exist.

[Benwell Lad]

Some of the posts in here man.

 

Four games in and people are talking about him leaving. We're absolutely pathetic.

 

It's become a bit of an NO thing. Players are either shite and we'll never get rid or they're good and it will be an honour to see them move on to a big club like Burnley or Watford 

[Benwell Lad]

From what I've seen so far, I suspect we may only get to see two seasons' of him in black and white, so let's sit back and enjoy them.

 

There is a "it was only Swansea" caveat, but he was so dominant yesterday that the dream pairing with Shelvey could actually be a goer.

 

In reality that caveat no longer exists.

All PL teams are so strong nowadays you can't read anything into a name say "it was only Watford /Burnley/

Bournemouth" or anyone else.

[SSFC]

Good player and I am thankful that Dortmund are so loaded with talent that he is an odd man out for them. Can they send us Pulisic 

[Zero]

Some of the posts in here man.

 

Four games in and people are talking about him leaving. We're absolutely pathetic.

 

I don't think it is pathetic to be honest.  Just like Spurs, who sold Carrick, Berbatov, Modric and Bale before forming a team that is fucking solid from top to bottom.  That's the route, you gotta develop and sell a player with world class quality and in exchange got a few promising crops back and repeat the process, until you accumulated enough talents to formally give it a go.  I am not against the idea of keeping Merino and continue to find more of them under Rafa reign, but I also not against the idea to sell him for an astronomical number and invest in 4-5 top class youngsters.

 

And yes, Merino has the quality to be world class.  He is our Kante.

[Stottie]

Sick of hearing about his "dive".

 

Watch it closely and properly, Ollson grabs his arm and pulls him back, defo a free kick.

 

Yeah, I thought there was some kind of coming together of arms, so the "OMG worst dive evar" punditry sounded like the usual biases. Making the most of any contact is standard practice, remember.

[Menace]

Sign him in Jan tbh.

[The College Dropout]

It looks like his ceiling should be higher than whatever we can do in the next 3 years most likely. Nowt wrong with that.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Posts like this are why...

[JP]

One of the four times a game Hayden stays down he will genuinely pick up an injury you'd think?

 

We may be forced into a Merino + Shelvey pivot 

[mighty__mag]

I think with Merino and Hayden central pushing Jonjo Shelvey further up could potentially be an idea worth trying out.

 

He's by no means a number 10, but an attacking midfielder given a bit more freedom could be worth looking at.

 

We always seem to have this stubbornness about players only being able to fit in where they are supposed to play, But we have seen since Dummett was injured players from less natural roles do just as well in these positions.

 

 

[54]

[louistoon]

Some of the posts in here man.

 

Four games in and people are talking about him leaving. We're absolutely pathetic.

 

 

I'll never understand this deseire for him to leave us if we lose rafa.

[Menace]

Whoever is handling our Twitter page really is doing a cracking job

[David Icke - Son of God]

Needs his eyebrows doing.

[Charlies]

Whoever is handling our Twitter page really is doing a cracking job

 

 

 

It's improved drastically over the last 2 years or so, fun88's ain't to bad either

[Cronky]

 

 

He's just a proper midfielder compared to the shit we have been used to.

 

I often wonder these days if the likes of Colback, Gouffran & Anita have skewed our vision so much that a player comes along, does the basics well and we instantly think he's a world beater

 

Nah, I think this lad is the real deal.

 

There's no particular aspect of his game that's outstanding, but at the same time he doesn't seem to have a weakness. Whatever situation he finds himself in on the pitch, he can deal with it. In a central midfield player, that's invaluable. He can make the whole team tick, and gives everyone confidence. The minute he came on against Spurs, the mindset of the team changed.

 

Let's hope there's no long-term injury - and he doesn't shirk a challenge - because I think he's the difference between a mid-table finish and a relegation fight.

[KaKa]

The guy will be happy to stay if Rafa is around man. For at least another few seasons. he's finally getting to play all the time. he's already made the big move too early previously and suffered for it.

 

In any case the success of this guy will give huge kudos to Rafa regarding transfers. Goodness knows how many other gems like this he had his eye on. There will be others.

 

So happy how this is working out. The guy is allowing us to quickly get over the horrendous summer we had.

[Village Idiot]

 

 

He's just a proper midfielder compared to the s*** we have been used to.

 

I often wonder these days if the likes of Colback, Gouffran & Anita have skewed our vision so much that a player comes along, does the basics well and we instantly think he's a world beater

 

We have a word in Spanish football jargon for these kind of players: nadacampistas ("nothingfielders"). Aka midfielders that run around a lot but ultimately bring f*** all to the team.

 

Jack Colback is one of the best examples of a nadacampista that I have ever seen. Good on Rafa for dumping him as soon as he could afford to and bring in some quality.

[DJ_NUFC]

I'm actually hoping he starts messing up so the EPL gravy train clubs don't start tempting Ashley with offers he won't refuse. But to be honest, without exaggeration, he's probably the best player in the world right now.

[Stottie]

Nadacampista? A word to remember!

 

Merino's ability to maneuver in tight spaces is well beyond the basics. His ability to just step in or just ease someone off it also looks uncanny. It's early days and maybe there is a countermeasure coming, like when teams started to hard press Tiote and his influence quickly faded, but Merino looks strong and technically very good, so I can't see a blatant weakness there to be exploited.