Arsenal’s only two genuine strikers, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, are injured and will remain sidelined for some time. On top of that, the club decided not to sign anyone in the recently finished January Transfer Window. So, what do you do when you don’t have centre-forwards? You experiment.Havertz out for the rest of the seasonMikel Arteta’s first attempt with Leandro Trossard as a false nine did not work against Leicester. The Belgian was quite invisible, while his fellow colleagues from the attacking trio, Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling, were like yin and yang. On the one hand, the youngster was the Gunners’ most active player, who had the only proper chance before the final ten minutes, but the post stopped him from becoming the hero. On the other hand, Sterling looked like a former player and was just a shadow of his former self.##NAJAVA_MECA_8712659##Given that desperate times call for desperate measures, Arteta decided to grasp at straws and replace the indisposed Sterling with Mikel Merino, who, although a midfielder, had the build capable of at least fighting and unsettling Leicester’s robust defenders. Unlike the first solution, this gaffer’s experiment turned out to be a genius move, as former Real Sociedad player netted a winning brace in the last ten minutes, bringing a vital win to the Emirates crew!Mikel Merino vs Leicester (A)Who needs a new number 9? 😂pic.twitter.com/t1mNqGiqAw— AFC_Adi (@AFC_Adi06) February 15, 2025 We often see players performing well in unusual positions for them, as they had played there at some point in youth categories. Well, this doesn’t apply to Merino, as the Spaniard had never played a striker before!Merino the striker keeps Arsenal in the title race”He [Arteta] told me I was going to come in as a striker. This morning we were talking about it a little bit with one of the assistants. Honestly it was a surprise because this is the first time in my career that I play in that position. He told me to go as a striker, make sure to go with my strengths, luckily I could help the team with two goals today,” Merino said speaking to TNT Sports after the match.Mikel Merino in 21 minutes against Leicester:✅ 2 touches in opposition box✅ 2 shots✅ 2 goalsNot bad for his first time ever playing as a striker 😳 pic.twitter.com/yTZjzVzv5u— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 15, 2025 People say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but what if Arteta actually hit the bullseye with Merino “the net buster?” It could change Arsenal’s fortunes in the future, so no one should be surprised if the 28-year-old started as a centre-forward against West Ham next Saturday (18.00).Either way, Arsenal’s squad still craves a genuine striker and a goalscorer, but after missing the latest transfer window, the Gunners won’t be able to fix the mistake before June. Only, it could be too late then…ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 25FridayBrighton – Chelsea 3-0 (2-0)/Mitoma 27, Minteh 38, 63/SaturdayLeicester – Arsenal 0-2 (0-0)/Merino 81, 87/Aston Villa – Ipswich 1-1 (0-0)/Watkins 69 – Delap 56/Fulham – Nott.Forest 2-1 (1-1)/Smith Rowe 15, Bassey 62 – Wood 37/Man.City – Newcastle 4-0 (3-0)/Marmoush 19, 24, 33, McAtee 84/Southampton – Bournemouth 1-3 (0-2)/Sulemana 72 – Ouattara 14, Christie 16, Tavernier 83/West Ham – Brentford 0-1 (0-1)/Schade 4/Crystal Palace – Everton 1-2 (0-1)/Mateta 47 – Beto 42, Alcaraz 80/SundayLiverpool – Wolves 2-1 (2-0)/Diaz 15, Salah 37 pen – Cunha 67/Tottenham – Manchester United 1-0 (1-0)/Maddison 13/
