Arsenal hit gold on the £32 million “monster” which is a hybrid of Xhaka & Ramsey

Given the size of the club, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of Arsenal legends.

Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams were among the likes of them winning the Premier League while playing for the club, earning them rewarded with statues outside the Emirates.

But like other clubs, there are many players who fall below legendary status, but who have achieved enough time with the club, loved by their fans, and considered like a cult hero.

Two of the best examples are Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey. It appears that Mikel Arteta has a player who is a hybrid of both.

Xhaka and Ramsey’s Arsenal careers

Despite specific interest from Manchester United, Ramsey joined Arsenal from Cardiff City in the summer of 2008 for around £5 million.

However, just a year and a half later, he took a terrifying double-leg break in his match against Stoke City.

Fortunately, while the incident slowed his development, the Care Philly-born star recovered completely, and within a few years he had the best campaign, scoring 16 goals in the 13/14 season and providing nine assists in 34 appearances.

By the time he left for Juventus in the summer of 2019, the Welsh legend had scored 64 goals and 60 assists in 369 matches, and more importantly, helped the North Londoners win three FA Cups.

In the days of Xhaka in North London, it is impossible to ignore the explosive episodes under Unai Emery. He threw his shirt and captain’s armband on the floor and vowed to the crowd at the Bailing Emirates.

At that point, his three-year stint at the N5 seemed to be coming to an end, but after being appointed manager a few months later, Arteta was able to convince him to stay in Switzerland International.

From that point on, former Borussia Menchen Radbach slowly rebuilt his relationship with his fanbase, and in September 2022, away supporters finally sang his name again at Brentford.

That season will be his last in London, but he will be his best as he spearheaded the surprise title challenge, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists in 47 appearances, bidding farewell to the enthusiastic and grateful chiefs.

Overall, they are not club legends, but Xhaka and Ramsey are both cult heroes and Arteta appears to have someone on his team that could become a hybrid of both.

Xhaka & Ramsey Hybrid by Arteta

After building it for many years, Arteta has a truly world-class team. One is stacked with international superstars such as the £32 million man, Mikel Merino.

While that may sound strange at first, Spanish International has a lot in common with both former Arsenal stars.

At his peak, for example, the Wales International was a lean average scoring machine from the middle of the park, something the original real Sociedad star is beginning to become.

He finished last season with an impressive tally of nine goals and five assists in 44 games, which he might point out, but he was given the chance as he saw him as the best scorer on the side at that point.

Additionally, the 29-year-old doesn’t often play at the top on his national side, finding eight times behind the net for them, earning an unrealistic hat-trick over the weekend.

But what about his similarities with Swiss International?

Well, aside from his ability to score goals, the former Gunners star was known for being eight tough tackles who flourished when he was tasked with disbanding plays.

Certainly, he took it far from time to time, but at his best, the new Sunderland man was the North London duel award machine. This is another way to describe Merino.

For example, in his final season in Spain, he was the only player to win over 300 duels in the top seven leagues in Europe, coming to 326.

Moreover, his underlying numbers for the last 365 days show that he is still effective when it comes to the unattractive aspects of the game.

According to FBREF, he is ranked in the top 2% of the top 5 league midfielders in Europe’s Aerialdale, with top 3% in offensive tackles, with all 3% per 90.

Finally, the 6-foot-3 “Monster,” dubbed by analyst Ben Matinson, occasionally captained Sociedad before leaving, suggesting that he also possesses some serious leadership qualities.

Ultimately, he isn’t always the first name on the team sheet, but Merino is a very useful player on the team, something like Xhaka Ramsey Hybrid.