Arsenal fans will absolutely love Mikel Merino’s bold prediction

Arsenal's summer signing Mikel Merino has made a bold prediction. Arsenal fans will certainly love his leadership and ambition.

At the weekend, Arsenal suffered an unfortunate two points dropped. However, they shared points with Liverpool, who were leading the table heading into the game week.

Arsenal played well in the match. They went into the half-time break 2-1 up, courtesey of a brilliant goal from Bukayo Saka and a pinpoint headed effort from Mikel Merino.

The Gunners ultimately let their heads drop in the second half and shared points with Liverpool. However, it was a nice moment to see the summer signing open his account for the season in a big game.

Arsenal fans will absolutely love Mikel Merino’s bold prediction

Speaking after the match, Arsenal fans were able to see Mikel Merino's leadership qualities. He clearly has plenty of ambition, which is likely the reason why Mikel Arteta signed him in the first place.

In his own words, Mikel Merino said: “The focus is to go 100% and learn from every game. We focus only on ourselves and what we can do to win every single game. We don’t look outside the team – in spite of this result, we don’t look too far ahead, we focus on the present. This is our mentality and it’s what will bring us success in the future."

Mikel Merino was addressing the upcoming trip to St James Park, facing Newcastle United. In the past, St James Park has been a difficult stadium to visit. In some ways, Newcastle and Arsenal have developed an under-the-radar rivalry due to heated matches in the North.

Arsenal need to produce a statement win at Newcastle, otherwise they could see themselves falling further adrift of Man City and Liverpool. Even this early into the season, every point matters, particularly with Man City grinding out results without key players.

Mikel Merino will almost certainly start the match against Newcastle United. He has staked a good claim on the starting lineup with his midfield composure and dynamism, his goal against Liverpool only proving his worth to Mikel Arteta.

When Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard comes back into the frame, there could be a nice headache for Mikel Arteta. After all, Odegaard will certainly start but none of Merino, Partey or Rice have done anything to justify being benched for his return.

Anyway, that's a future problem for Mikel Arteta.

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