Why World Cup winner Mikel Merino will be worried if Arsenal sign £80m star

With Leandro Trossard departing Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will be attempting to find his new Mr Clutch. Well, Mikel Merino could be that man.

While the Spaniard’s arrival for a £32m fee in August 2024 did not create much fanfare, he has delivered immense performances for the Gunners and has swiftly become something of a cult hero.

Like Trossard, the midfielder has popped up in some massive moments. 91% of his Premier League goals have been game state changing strikes. That means they have either been an opening goal, an equaliser or a winner.

The regularity with which Merino delivers when the pressure is on is remarkable. He did so as Spain won the World Cup too, netting late winners against Portugal and Belgium in the last 16 and the quarter-finals.

Despite all of that, the 30-year-olds game time for 2026/27 is rather uncertain.

What the future holds for Mikel Merino at Arsenal

Have you ever seen an Arsenal career quite like Merino’s? It’s been a wonderfully good but surprising signing.

When he arrived, he did so as cover in the middle of the mark. By accident, however, he has become a very important part of Mikel Arteta’s squad.

A midfielder by trade, it was as a centre-forward where the World Cup winner thrived. With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus missing the back end of the 2024/25 season, Merino played as an emergency striker and set the world alight.

He scored twice as a substitute against Leicester and from that moment, his career with the club was transformed. Merino has been so good up top that he has ten goals and six assists in 23 outings in that role for the Gunners.

That said, 2025/26 was rather more difficult for the former Newcastle man, missing most of the second half of the season with a foot injury. He returned in time to be crowned a Premier League champion but did not make it off the bench in the Champions League final.

Arteta must regret the fact he was not 100% fit because as he showed for Spain this summer, he’s really rather good at making himself a nuisance off the bench.

There is a sense, however, that despite his good fortune this summer, Merino may struggle for regular minutes next season. Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz will squabble over the chance to lead the line and Julian Alvarez could also be on the way.

In the middle of the park, the Spanish hero may also struggle for a route into the side with Myles Lewis-Skelly now firmly regarded as a midfielder intstead of a left-back. He ended last term brilliantly, leapfrogging Martin Zubimendi in the pecking order.

There is also the threat of a new midfielder arriving. In fact, it’s incredibly likely that Andrea Berta brings one into the club this summer. Merino’s playing time will dwindle further if that is the case.

How Arsenal could replace Merino in the transfer market

Arsenal need to raise the ceiling of the squad this summer and in a bid to improve their midfield ranks, a move for Newcastle man Bruno Guimaraes is the pipeline. He wants to join but could cost upwards of £100m such are the inflated fees of this summer window.

Alex Scott of Bournemouth has also been mooted. A box-to-box midfielder, he would certainly represent bad news for Merino who has performed a similar role for Arteta’s side over the last two years.

As good as those two moves may well be, there is much excitement about a certain Ayyoub Bouaddi too.

The 18-year-old was one of the breakout stars of the World Cup, starring for Morocco and dazzling against Guimaraes and Co when the African nation drew 1-1 with Brazil in their opening game.

While Arsenal’s interest was well known before that match, it only cemented why they are so keen on prising him away from Lille.

The fact is that Bouaddi is one of the best young midfielders in the world right now and would represent a huge threat to Merino’s game time if he did arrive.

The latest, according to The Times, is that Arsenal have held talks not just to sign the Moroccan, but also Scott. So, what could the former offer? Well, he is different to Merino.

This is not a box-crashing midfielder. The teenager has never scored in his senior career and only has four assists to show for his efforts. So what’s all the hype about? Why is this sort of player being valued as highly as £80m?

Well, as Como scout Ben Mattinson notes, the youngster is a future £100m midfielder and has even outlined in the past that the likes of Christian Norgaard and Merino would be good in the interim before someone of the teenager’s calibre signs.

Taking to social media last year, he said: “It was obvious from early they [Joao Neves & Bouaddi] would go on to be £100m midfielders. This is where Norgaard and Merino make sense as a stop gap for a world class potential midfielder like him.”

With the world at his feet, Bouaddi is also being closely tracked by Manchester City and it is clear to see why. Mattinson further commented that his press resistance is already “elite level” and that is tackling and timing of the challenge is “exceptional.”

More of a defensive minded player than Merino right now, he could fit seamlessly into a side looking for someone to play alongside Declan Rice.

That added midfield competition would, of course, only come as bad news to many, not just Merino but also Zubimendi and Lewis-Skelly.