If there was one problem identifying the ultimately failed issue for Arsenal that attempted to acquire silverware in 2024/25, it was their lack of goal.
Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka missed a large period through injuries during the late stages of the campaign, meaning no player scored double digits in the Gunners league campaign for the first time in 101 years.
It’s amazing, and I really believe that Mikel Arteta was able to lead his unit to the Champions League semi-finals.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the people of North London found their way, and they did so courtesy of Mikel Merino, a midfielder more famous for winning duels and disbanding the plays, rather than finding the back of the net.
Alas, Arteta helped transform the Spaniard into a force to consider.
A stunning Merino hat trick for Spain
Last season, before Leicester left, the idea came to mind for Merino to perform as a makeshift and advance to the emergency center. No one believed that would happen, but no need.
Gabriel Jesus and Herberts both came out long term through injuries, and Leandro Torosard looked too light to play the role the Germans played very effectively since their arrival from Chelsea.
Torosad is a bit, he’s good with the ball on his feet, but he never runs around a big centre-back to the ball.
As a result, Merino was thrown into conflict. His influence was incredible. In a clash with Leicester in early February, the original real Sociedad man emerged from the bench with a score of 0-0. The score he scored when he left the field? 2-0 to Arsenal. Merino had both while playing as a striker.
It was an experiment that continued to work well. He ended the 2024/25 campaign and won the net six times as a centre forward in 12 games. Merino was even bagged against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Viktor Gyoker’s summer arrival will undermine the chances of the 29-year-old appearing in the role again, but he certainly bets a proper argument for it.
Certainly, the midfielder is in a spectacular fashion over the current international break. He won Bulgaria 3-0 last Thursday, and got a hat-trick even better in Turkey’s 6-0 defeat on Sunday evening.
Merino didn’t play forward on the occasion, but he pops up at the right place at the right time, inducing memories of players like Frank Lampard, reminiscing with Aaron Ramsey’s Prime from an Arsenal standpoint.
The fact in question is that Spanish International is a powerful, excellent finisher and perhaps one of the best artetas at his freedom. The way he achieved his goals, especially against the third Türkiye, was first class.
Those three goal performances aren’t just purple patches. Throughout 2025, Merino has been introducing you to know how to find the internet behind the scenes. Some of the Arsenal colors, including Martin Odegaard, can be taken notes.
Why does Martin Odegard need to emulate Mikel Merino?
When Odegard signed Arsenal, initially when he held the loan in January 2021, Gunners were simply getting players who needed to find a home.
Signed by Real Madrid when he was just a boy, he grew up as a mysterious man in Spain, but struggled to actually influence the capital, playing 11 senior matches for the European giants, failing to score or support.
It’s very rare for pure wonders like Odegaard to continue to perform, but he certainly does it at Arsenal. He is the club’s captain and he is the guy who relies on Arteta to set the tone and leading the team’s press on the field.
He has been great since moving to North London, so there is no doubt about it. In 2022/23 he scored more goals than any other midfielder in the Premier League (15). He is a creative wonder, embracing Arsenal’s famous content creator, Arsenal, and points out that what he died is “a shade of Mesat Ozil.”
In fact, during his time at Emirates Stadium, Norwegians, rated £74 million, are regularly compared to the great Germans. Liverpool great John Arne Leeds once declared his fellow countrymen “a more complete player than Bergkamp and Ozil.”
Odegaard certainly seemed to have everything during the 2022/23 campaign, but like most of Arsenal’s forward line, he’s been struggling to kick-on ever since.
The 2024/25 season was the lowest point of his time in the British capital so far. Odegaard struggled with ankle issues and didn’t seem to have full confidence in his body. His shooting became weak and weak, and he ended the term with just six goals.
Odegaard vs Merino 24/25 League | ||
|---|---|---|
statistics | Odegard | Merino |
game | 30 | 28 |
the goal | 3 | 7 |
assist | 8 | 2 |
Shot accuracy | 56% | 48% |
Conversion rate | 10% | twenty two% |
Statistics via Squawka. | ||
It has irritated many supporters. The Norwegian star has won the ball at the edge of the area and has had plenty of time, but he refuses to film and instead takes the more challenging option of finding a defensive splitting pass.
Odegaard’s creativity is second in the top European divisions, a very few, but he has to start scoring more goals to be considered the elite and the Kevin de Bruyne type, one of the best players in his position.
He needs to go back to the shape he saw in 2022/23, and to do so, he needs to take the leaves out of the Merino book.
Merino wasn’t a prominent scorer until 2025, but he arrived in the box and appeared on Nick of Time, mastering the art of cleaning the ball’s house from the edge of the area. Odegaard trademarked such a goal two seasons ago, and as a result he looked like one of the best in Europe.
He needs to find the same level of instinct when it comes to finding the net that Merino currently has. Once Sociedad’s colleagues are undoubtedly, there is no doubt that there is a great level of respect between the two, but the elder politician is certainly a better finisher because it stands.
The Duel Monster Odegard is not, but that’s not what we’re looking for from him here. He does not emulate Merino in that respect. But we know he can emulate him in the target department. We’ve already seen it in his early red and white.
If the 26-year-old can rediscover that level of performance again, it won’t take long for him to be recognized among the best offensive midfielders to play in the Premier League.