Mikel Merino has recognised himself as one of the smallest members in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal which “looks like a basketball team.” In their last Premier League clash against Bournemouth, the Gunners’ starting eleven included nine players with a height above 6 feet. Only the 5ft 8in duo– Raheem Sterling and Leandro Trossard– don’t fall into the category. Since taking over the charge almost five years back, Arteta has put much focus on the players’ physicality along with their technical abilities.
The Arsenal boss even shows basketball clips to the footballers so that they can learn how to use their size more effectively to create spaces during matches, as reported by the Sun. Merino, who joined the Premier League club from Real Sociedad earlier this summer, also admitted why the physical strength of every squad member is key to becoming a “complete team.”
“It is crazy. I am in the corridors of the training ground just walking, and back at my old club I used to be one of the tallest, so everyone was smaller than me. Now, I look around and everyone is taller than me. We look like a basketball team,” Merino said (via Sun).
“Football now has changed and you need a strong team. You need the physical aspect, the technical aspect, and the tactical one, you need to be a total team to achieve big things as we want to do,” he added.
Merino, however, reckons the physicality will be of no use if the player doesn’t have the winning mentality, “It is not only about being tall and big, you need mentality. If you are tall and big but don’t go with the 100 per cent intention to win the ball, it’s just nothing,” he said.
Merino established his stature as a duel specialist during his time at Real Sociedad, winning 326 last season. But at Arsenal, the 28-year-old has to do more than controlling the midfield. “That is one of the reasons I am here because I can be a threat in the opposite box. That is something I need to work on to get better at. I have a high ceiling,” he admitted.
After losing the last game to Bournemouth, Arsenal now find themselves in the third spot in the Premier League standings. After eight matches, they are three points behind second-placed Manchester City and four behind table-topper Liverpool.
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