Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, and Harry Kane (Photo by Michael Regan, Shaun Botterill, Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Even though there was plenty of chat about Mikel Merino potentially having to operate as a makeshift striker ahead of the Leicester game at the weekend, I don’t think anyone could have predicted quite how well the experiment would go.
It was an unbelievable cameo from the Spaniard, who turned the game on its head having been brought off the bench in those final 20 minutes by Mikel Arteta.
The two goals were superb. Not just the finishes either, but the movement to ensure he received both crosses from Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard in space.
Merino’s match winning cameo certainly leaves Arteta facing a big decision ahead of Saturday’s game with West Ham…
On paper it looks relatively easy. Surely he just has to start with Merino right?
But I do wonder just how sustainable that sort of performance is from him as a striker and whether he will be anywhere near as effective when being asked to start a game as the centre forward.
Having Merino on the bench gives you a real chance to change the game if needed, as we saw at the King Power Stadium.
But if you start him this weekend, then that leaves Arteta with basically no options to turn to on the bench if things don’t go to plan against West Ham.
So it’s maybe not as easy a decision as it initially looks.
Personally, I think Merino will probably start because Raheem Sterling’s performance at Leicester was so underwhelming.
It was a big opportunity for Sterling to impress against the Foxes, but he just couldn’t do it.
It was actually quite sad to watch.
Sterling has had an incredible career and has been a superb performer in the Premier League, but he looked like a player who just couldn’t do it anymore on Saturday.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying. He was trying to do what has made him such a successful winger over the past 10 years, but he just couldn’t manage it.
The pace wasn’t there and…
..
