Mikel Arteta names Arsenal player who is a 'joy' to have after 'patient' Slavia Praha win

Mikel Arteta was full of praise for one Arsenal star after Tuesday night’s Champions League win over Slavia Praha. The Gunners won 3-0 in the Czech Republic to maintain their perfect Champions League record and to make it 10 straight wins across all competitions.

Arsenal were without striker Viktor Gyokeres for the trip to Prague, and with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus still absent, Arteta was left without a natural striker.

But just like last season, Arteta turned to Mikel Merino to play up top, and the Spaniard once again delivered. Merino scored twice to add to a Bukayo Saka penalty,

“It's a joy to have him, I always say the same thing. It's his versatility on the pitch, the things that he can do, it's his mindset, it's his leadership, it's the way he is as a person,” Arteta said after the game. “Today we are missing a lot of attacking players and we have to find different solutions, he comes in the Champions League and scores two goals.”

Asked about the makeshift option, Arteta added: “Yeah, you have to invent options, you can always have options if you invent them. But obviously, Mikel hasn't played there before in his career, but we had a good experience of last season, and the way he reacted and performed in that position. And obviously, we believe that today, the way it is, there was a good chance for him to perform.”

Merino clearly has an eye for goal, and he has found similar scoring success with his national team over the last year. “My view was always that he had really good timing and the capacity to finish in the box, especially one-touch,” Arteta added.

“And then talking to him and making sure that he plays closer to the box, and he identifies the opportunities, the timing, the way he needs to attack the spaces in relation to how they defend the box, which today was a bit different as well, the way they set up. And then it's obviously his quality. his willingness to learn and practise every day.”

Arsenal continue perfect start

Arsenal have won all of their games in the Champions League so far, with only Bayern matching that effort so far, while Inter Milan can also join that group on Wednesday night.

Speaking about Arsenal’s latest win, Arteta said: “I'm really happy with the win, four in a row without conceding a goal. A really tough place to come, I told the boys, the game that we had to expect, a team that is super intense, very direct, man-to-man, so very short sequences of play, a lot of fouls, a lot of restarts, very difficult to get any fluency in the match.

“But if we were patient and emotionally controlled, we were going to have our chances and the way they set up, and we did that. I think the margin at the end looked comfortable, but I don't think it was a comfortable match at all. Not only the win, but also the fact that we had some players that haven't played much, playing and performing really well. Mikel [Merino] stepping up as a nine and scoring two goals, Max [Dowman] making his debut and probably the youngest ever, Andre [Harriman-Annous] as well, so a lot of positives tonight.”

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