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Mikel Arteta will not take the result against Man City well. For obvious reasons, he always wants to win against his old boss Pep Guardiola. So, to pick up only one point when hosting Arsenal's newest rivals will not sit well with Arteta.
In many ways, Arteta only has himself to blame. It was an awful starting lineup, and that was exposed almost immediately. The team that Arsenal started the match with was not up to par, and if anything, going in at 0-1 down as a compliment to some of those players.
Thankfully, Mikel Arteta made some game-changing subs at half-time, and Mikel Merino was one of the two players (Noni Madueke being the other) that made way for Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze.
Mikel Arteta learned an invaluable Mikel Merino lesson he must not ignore
Look, Mikel Merino has his strengths. There's a reason why Mikel Arteta loves him, and we hope that he continues to start big matches like this in the future.
However, I can't remember the last time Merino had a good performance when operating in the midfield. He is an excellent finisher, but watching him try to involve himself in buildup play is frankly painful.
In truth, Merino might have come up with the winning goal if he were on the pitch. He's good in situations like that, when Arsenal throws in the kitchen sink and loose balls are making their way into the opposition's box.
Today was yet another painful lesson that Merino cannot be trusted in a midfield three, particularly when the other two midfielders aren't known to be the most attacking players in the world. Merino cannot carry an attacking weight on his shoulders.
In this game, Arsenal sorely missed Martin Ødegaard. If Mikel Merino was tasked with replicating that role, then it was a game plan destined to fail. Thankfully, Arteta scrapped that idea before it could harm Arsenal.
We can safely assume that Mikel Merino being subbed off at halftime means he'll play a big role in the upcoming games next week. The EFL Cup returns for Arsenal, with a trip to Port Vale, then they'll face Newcastle in the league at St James Park.
These games will be better suited to Mikel Merino. But Arteta certainly cannot trust him to carry the creative load for Arsenal. He is just not that guy, and probably never will be that guy.