Mikel Arteta's Arsenal Midfield Options Look Frightening

Mikel Arteta’s midfield options are starting to look frightening. And no one sounds more energised by it than Mikel Merino.

The World Cup winner, still settling into life at Arsenal, could barely hide his admiration when asked about the competition for places in the centre of the pitch.

“Honestly, it’s unreal. Probably the best midfield in football,” he said, laying it out without hesitation. “The amount of quality that we have there, with every player that can come on the pitch and make a good shift. It’s great.

“That’s good for the team. That’s good for the squad. It raises everyone’s level because if you have a bad day, the one that is close to you is going to do a great job.”

That internal pressure is exactly what Arteta has been building towards. No passengers. No guarantees. Just elite players driving each other on.

Merino’s praise didn’t stop at the collective. Asked about Arsenal’s new Brazilian signing, he didn’t bother with understatement.

“Amazing signing,” he said. “He has proved throughout these years how good he is at Newcastle. And he showed it today again.

“A lot of composure, technical ability, a lot of defensive effort as well. So it’s a very good signing. A top player, but we have many of those in this team. So everyone that comes to help the team is welcome.”

The Brazilian wasted no time showing why the club moved for him. Fresh through the door, he pulled on an Arsenal shirt for the first time in a pre-season run-out against Italian side Como. Three training sessions, then straight into a game. No easing in, no gentle introduction.

Arteta liked that attitude. He liked it a lot.

“He's only had three training sessions, but he looked good. He was really pushing to play some minutes today,” the Arsenal manager told reporters. “He wanted to get his debut and the feeling of playing in front of our fans immediately. You sense it immediately. I believe there's a strong connection at play and that is going to make us better.”

The message from inside the camp is clear: standards are high, and they’re still climbing.

Arsenal may have enjoyed success last season, but Merino made it plain that nobody is treating that as a destination. If anything, it has sharpened the edge.

“I think we have an amazing squad. The hunger is still there. Not because we won it last season, we’re going to be happy with it,” he said. “We want more and more and more and we want every trophy possible.