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Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino scored a hat-trick for Spain in their 6-0 World Cup Qualifying victory over Turkey.
The makeshift striker showed his goalscoring ability once again as he hit a treble to make it six goals in six appearances for his country in 2025. He spent the second half of last season playing up front for the Gunners and netted six times in 12 games as a striker.
His performance against Turkey showed he clearly still has a taste for goal and that could be of use to his namesake manager Mikel Arteta throughout the campaign.
Mikel Merino scores hat-trick for Spain
Mikel Merino bagged a hat-trick this evening as Spain beat Turkey 6-0 🎩
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 7, 2025
That's six goals in six games for his country this year 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/zMV9drc3sL
His first goal was a well-taken effort, meeting Mikel Oyarzabal's square ball to place a strike in the far corner. He then grabbed a second in first half stoppage time when he raced onto a low cross to calmly convert from the centre of the box.
Merino completed his hat-trick with the best goal of the three. He worked his way to edge of the Turkey area before curling a fine effort into the top corner, comfortably beating Ugurcan Cakir and securing his treble after just 57 minutes.
His hat-trick was the fourth time he had found the back of the net in two games for Spain during this international break. He had already scored in a 3-0 victory over Bulgaria last week.
This period isn't the first time he's shown his class in front of goal for his country this year. He scored in a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in March and also netted in an eventual 5-4 win over France in the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League.
Having made himself a fan favourite with his goalscoring exploits for Arsenal last season, his hat-trick for Spain shows that he could step back into the makeshift striker role if needed in north London.
Following Kai Havertz's surgery and Gabriel Jesus' ongoing recovery, Viktor Gyokeres finds himself as the only out-and-out centre forward currently available at the club. Arteta at least has the option to call on Merino if he finds himself in need of a different option up top.
Merino has shown once again that he is more than a reliable midfielder. He also has an amazing ability to shock defences with his occasional goalscoring quality. He will continue to be a useful weapon Arteta can utilise throughout this season.