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

With Leandro Trossard set to leave Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will be looking to find a new Mr Clutch. Well, Mikel Merino might be that guy.

The Spaniard’s arrival in August 2024 for a fee of £32 million didn’t make much of a splash, but he quickly became something of a cult hero with some impressive performances for the Gunners.

Similar to Trossard, the midfielder popped up at some key moments. 91% of his goals in the Premier League were match-changing goals. That means they were either the first goal, the tying goal, or the game-winner.

Merino’s regularity under pressure is amazing. He did the same when Spain won the World Cup, scoring late winners against Portugal and Belgium in the last 16 and quarter-finals.

Despite all this, the 30-year-old’s game time in 2026/27 is highly uncertain.

What does Mikel Merino’s future hold at Arsenal?

Have you ever seen an Arsenal career like Merino? It was a wonderfully good but surprising deal.

When he arrived, he played as cover in the middle of the mark. But by chance he has become a very important part of Mikel Arteta’s team.

Although he was traded as a midfielder, the World Cup winner played as a centre-forward. With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus sidelined for the final part of the 2024-25 season, Merino played as an emergency striker and provided a bright spot for the world.

He scored two goals as a substitute against Leicester, and from that moment his career at the club changed forever. Merino has been very good under the top flight, scoring 10 goals and providing six assists in 23 games in the role for the Gunners.

However, 2025/26 was a rather difficult season for the former Newcastle player, who missed much of the second half of the season with a foot injury. He returned in time to be crowned Premier League champions, but missed the bench in the Champions League final.

Arteta must be regretting the fact that he wasn’t 100% fit. Because he’s pretty good at coming off the bench and being a nuisance, as he showed with Spain this summer.

However, despite his good fortune this summer, there is a sense that Merino may struggle to play regularly next season. Victor Goqueres and Kai Havertz will be competing for the chance to lead the front line, while Julian Alvarez could also feature.

In the center of the park, the Spanish hero may also struggle to find a route out wide with Miles Lewis-Skelly, who is now firmly regarded as a midfielder rather than a left-back. He finished last term in style, overtaking Martin Zvimendi to take the lead in the pecking order.

There is also the threat of bringing in a new midfielder. In fact, it is very likely that Andrea Berta will bring a player to the club this summer. If that happens, Merino’s playing time will be further reduced.

How Arsenal could replace Merino in the transfer window

Arsenal need to increase their ceiling this summer, with a move for Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães in the pipeline to improve their midfield standings. He would like to join, but it could cost more than £100m, including the increased fees for this summer’s slot.

Bournemouth’s Alex Scott is also on the agenda. The box-to-box midfielder will undoubtedly be bad news for Merino, who has played a similar role in Arteta’s side for the past two years.

While these two moves may be great, there’s also a lot of excitement about a certain Ayyub Bouadi.

The 18-year-old was one of the breakout stars of the World Cup, starring for Morocco and providing brilliant performances against the likes of Guimarães as the African nation drew 1-1 with Brazil in their opening match.

Arsenal’s interest was well known before that game, but it further cemented why they were keen to sign him from Lille.

In fact, Bouadi is one of the best young midfielders in the world at the moment and would pose a huge threat to Merino’s game time if he were to arrive.

According to the Times, the latest information is that Arsenal have held contract talks with Scott as well as the Moroccan player. So what can the former offer? Well, he’s not like Merino.

This is not a box-crushing midfielder. The teenager has never scored a goal in his senior career and has just four assists to prove his efforts. So what’s all the hype about? Why would a player like this be valued at as much as £80m?

Now, as Como scout Ben Mattinson points out, the youngster is a future £100m midfielder, and he has even outlined in the past that the likes of Christian Norgaard and Merino would be suitable in the interim until a talented player such as a teenager is signed.

Last year, he said on social media: “It was clear from early on that they (Joao Neves and Bouadi) were going to be £100m midfielders in the future. This is where Norgaard and Merino make sense as stop gaps for potential world-class midfielders like him.”

Bouadi, who has attracted the attention of the world, has also attracted the attention of Manchester City, and it is clear why. Mattinson further commented that his press tolerance was already at an “elite level”, it was a tackle, and the timing of the challenge was “exceptional”.

Currently a more defensive-minded player than Merino, he could fit seamlessly into a team looking for a player to play alongside Declan Rice.

Of course, more competition in midfield would only spell bad news for many, including Merino, but also Zvimendi and Lewis Skelly.