Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has been singled out for criticism by journalist Charles Watts after failing to add anything to the team’s attack in the 0-0 draw with Everton at the weekend.
The Gunners failed to capitalise on Liverpool dropping points against Fulham as they were also held at home, with Merino one of the main culprits that seemed to negatively impact Mikel Arteta’s side‘s style of play.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Watts discussed the disappointing draw, and admitted he felt Merino wasn’t really making the kind of impact many fans will have hoped for.
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Watts thinks Arteta would have been better off using Ethan Nwaneri in Merino’s role at the weekend, taking the pressure off Martin Odegaard to be the only real creative player in that midfield.
“I actually liked the look of the starting XI when it was announced. It looked well balanced on both sides, with players all playing in their natural positions. But I just think too many players had an off day,” Watts said.
“It must be noted that Everton played well. They were extremely well drilled and you could see they had spent the past ten days working on exactly how they were going to frustrate Arsenal.
“They denied them space, especially down the right hand side and kept things so tight in the central areas.
“But it was just as much as Arsenal playing poorly than it was Everton playing well. Martin Odegaard just didn’t look right and he hasn’t for the past few games and we know how much of an impact that has on this Arsenal side.
“When Odegaard is on it, Arsenal are a completely different proposition. That’s just undeniable. But when he’s absent or he’s struggling for form, they just don’t have anyone else who can replicate what he does.
“Mikel Merino played alongside him on Saturday and you can see he’s still working his way into this Arsenal team. He didn’t do anything wrong against Everton, but he didn’t really add anything in an attacking sense.
“He was never really a threat and you never felt like he was going to be the person to prize open the Everton defence.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I would much rather have seen Mikel Arteta replace Merino with Ethan Nwaneri when the youngster came on early in the second half. Having Nwaneri and Odegaard operating next to each other in those pockets in front of the Everton back four would have given the visitors something a bit different to think about.”
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