Until Arsenal’s three most recent games, Mikel Merino’s previous start as a striker came before Ethan Nwaneri was born. Then again, quite a bit of even 21st-century Arsenal history occurred before Nwaneri was born: their last league title, their only Champions League final, all but the closing few weeks of Thierry Henry’s first spell as a Gunners player.
Nwaneri has the sort of talent and touch that can make people gush; class can be undefinable, but you know it when you see it. “He is an unbelievable player, I have been saying it for a long time,” said Merino.
A long time relatively speaking, of course. Nwaneri does not officially become an adult until later this month; he needs one goal to equal the record shared by Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney for the most for a Premier League club before a player turns 18.
He may be the answer to many a quiz question in future years. One of the tougher ones may relate to the composition of Arsenal’s forward line when they scored seven goals away in a Champions League knockout tie. Time may give more of a normality to Nwaneri’s presence; he could become a fixture in such fixtures, a frequent scorer on such stages. But there is the boy who looks here to stay and the makeshift, in Merino, along with the perennial odd-job man, Leandro Trossard. All three scored in the 7-1 rout of PSV Eindhoven. Each contributed to at least one other goal, too.
Arsenal’s injuries and their reluctance to sign a forward have created opportunities for them. Whereas Merino may be more of an incongruous presence in attack, Nwaneri has been fast-tracked. Yet he had looked on the right path, anyway. "Even if [Bukayo] Saka was here, Ethan would be still getting minutes because he's that good,” said Declan Rice.
Nwaneri’s progress invites questions about whether his 18th birthday will be spent debuting for England against Albania. The context is very different there, however, and not merely because Thomas Tuchel’s 18-month contract gives him fewer reasons to look to the future. Even without Saka, he comes into competition with Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and a host of others. If Arsenal have seemed to possess too few forward options, England have too many. There is a clearer route into the national team for Myles Lewis-Skelly, given the relative scarcity of natural left-backs.
Merino, though, has proof that a left-footed teenager on the right wing can be integral to winning international tournaments. “My role is now more of like a teacher,” smiled a Spain teammate of Lamine Yamal. If they are good enough, they are old enough? Sometimes.
Arsenal’s recruitment – or lack of it – has drawn criticism, quite a bit of it fair. What was understandable, even if it did leave them a little short-staffed, was removing some of the obstacles in Nwaneri’s path by loaning out Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson without replacing either.
But it did help create the conditions where Merino was thrust into the role of a striker; initially as a scoring substitute at Leicester, then as a starter. His previous experience in the position hardly came with Arteta’s exacting tactical demands.
“It was a long time ago, I was seven years old,” said the summer signing. “I was in my school team, with the kids there. I mean, I was playing everywhere, not only as a striker. It was five kids running around on the pitch. But now is the time I am playing as a striker and it is something new for me. I have been lucky enough to score and assist today, so I think I am helping the team. I am doing the best I can.”
Merino has had an eye for a goal from midfield, looking a fine finisher with the right instincts. Part of the challenge is working out where to be as a forward. “I have been talking with the analysts, the boss as well,” he said. “I pride myself in trying to understand what happens on the pitch, not only in my position as a No 8, but also other positions of other teammates.”
But if there was a surreal scoreline in Eindhoven on Tuesday, Merino admitted he finds his own status as the man leading the line odd. “It is kind of crazy, to be honest,” he said.
Previous Arsenal sides in the Champions League have been spearheaded by Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Robin van Persie. This one has Merino, doing his best to compensate for the absences of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. It is a job he may have to do against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, perhaps another superpower or two thereafter. He sounded undaunted.
“I guess that whenever you start a competition like this, if you don’t think that you can win it, it’s better not to come and play,” he said. Can Arsenal win the Champions League with him as their No 9? Logically, no, but they reached the final in 2006 with another midfielder, Mathieu Flamini, standing in at left-back. Not that Nwaneri would remember. He wasn’t born then.
