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Mikel Arteta just praised Arsenal's unlikeliest hero, Mikel Merino, after the Spaniard scored two goals out of position in a win over Slavia Praha on Tuesday night.
In an early kick-off game, Arsenal were initially struggling to find the net due to Slavia Praha's resilient defense.
However, the breakthrough came in the first half for the Gunners in the 32nd minute when Bukayo Saka converted the penalty to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
Arsenal went into the tunnel content with their 1-0 lead, and shortly after they had come out of it for the second half, Merino had scored his first.
Shortly after, Merino scored his second and confirmed the result for the Gunners, who are still yet to concede a goal in the Champions League - and have only conceded three in the Premier League.
Speaking after the match, manager Mikel Arteta only had good things to say about Merino, whose brace was more important than people thought.
Mikel Arteta praises Mikel Merino's 'versatility' after brace
He said: “It’s just a joy to have Mikel, I always say the same thing. It’s his versatility on the pitch, the things that he can do, it’s his mindset, his leadership, the way he is as a person.
"Today, we are missing a lot of attacking players and we have to find different solutions. He comes in in the Champions League and scores two goals.
“Obviously, Mikel hadn’t played there before in his career, but we have the good experience of last season and the way he reacted and performed in that position.
"We believed today that the way we were set up, it was a good chance for him to perform. My view was always that he had really good timing and the capacity to finish in the box. Especially one touch."”
This brace marked Merino's second and third goal for the club this season, which brings his total for club and country to six after scoring a hat-trick against Türkiye in September.
Merino scored nine goals last season, a lot of which came as a makeshift striker after injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.
This role has clearly worked for Arsenal, Arteta as well as Merino, who has evolved as a midfielder and a striker during his time in North London.
It is only a temporary solution until Arsenal's three injured strikers return, but for a seemingly fourth choice striker, it is not a bad option to have.