How Arsenal Can Replace Mikel Merino After Devastating Injury Setback

The Spaniard’s foot injury could prove to be a big blow to Arsenal’s title charge.

Mikel Merino has left some big shoes to fill. | Image Photo Agency/Daniela Porcelli/Sports Press Photo/Visionhaus/Robbie Jay Barratt-AMA/Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Mikel Arteta will hope that the depth of his Arsenal squad offers the requisite insurance against injury setbacks during their run to the Premier League title.

Arsenal’s depth has already been put to the test in what was regarded as a critical year for Arteta’s project. Some suggested it was now or never for the Spaniard after five seasons without silverware, and they certainly didn’t mess about in the summer when it came to filling holes.

As a result, the Gunners have smoothly mitigated injuries to Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel, leaving them in strong positions on four fronts. However, bumps in the road are to be expected as Arsenal edge towards glory, and Mikel Merino’s significant foot injury, which requires surgery, may be the first major obstacle Arteta’s men have to overcome during the second half of the season.

It was too late in the day to secure a short-term replacement in the January transfer window, so here’s how Arteta could replace Merino internally while he’s sidelined.

---

Kai Havertz Reversion

Kai Havertz recently returned from a long-term knee injury. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

“Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play,” Arteta said upon Kai Havertz’s arrival in 2023, suggesting that he viewed the German as a potential Granit Xhaka replacement.

Havertz initially looked awkward in the role Xhaka mastered the previous season, and Arteta eventually shelved Plan A for the former Chelsea star in the winter. A late winner at Brentford in November highlighted his ability to ghost in behind defences, and Havertz soon started playing off the shoulder of Gabriel Jesus.

His evolution into Arsenal’s starting centre forward was certainly more gradual than Merino’s, and his superb run of form down the stretch that season convinced the club to avoid making a signing at the position in the summer.

However, much has changed since Havertz recovered from a knee injury, which kept him out for most of 2025. Arteta now has Gabriel Jesus fit and Viktor Gyökeres in good goalscoring form, so Havertz, who’s being carefully reintegrated, is in a fierce battle for minutes up top.

While Merino has been sporadically used as a striker this season, the majority of his appearances have come in midfield. Perhaps Havertz will be deployed a bit deeper to mitigate the Spaniard’s absence, finally fulfilling the vision Arteta laid out for him three years ago. Havertz, like Merino, is no build-up maestro and can appear clunky between the lines, but he’s an imposing presence who can ghost into the box and win a hell of a lot of duels.

---

Trust the Mavericks

Eberechi Eze has contributed little outside of his North London Derby hat-trick. | Vince Mignott/DeFodi Images/DeFodi/Getty Images

When things go wrong for Arsenal, which has been rare this season, Arteta often finds himself under heavy scrutiny for his heavy set-piece reliance, emphasis upon physicality and general risk-aversion from open play, which he’s deemed to encourage.

The Gunners boss, while an excellent coach, no longer seems particularly fond of unpredictable playmakers. Ødegaard was once the beating heart of his side, but the captain’s influence is diminishing. Saka is brilliant but somewhat methodical in approach, while Eberechi Eze has contributed very little outside of his derby day hat-trick.

Ethan Nwaneri may have been primed for an uptick in minutes had he not been shipped off to Marseille on loan last month, so Arteta may be forced to trust the purple patch man while Merino’s out. Is it time for the Arsenal boss to lean on the creative sparks within his regimented unit?

It was a full circle moment when Eze strolled out to a stunning reception at the Emirates in August, but the Englishman’s debut season in north London hasn’t quite been the cathartic dream it was slated to be. He hasn’t been the missing piece, nor the man to convince Arteta to embrace a less rugged side, but there’s still time for Eze’s impact to be felt. It was this time last year when he came into his own for Crystal Palace, inspiring them to their greatest day out.

Let it all work out, Mikel.

---

The Left-Field Choice

Myles Lewis-Skelly played in midfield at youth level. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

Assuming there’s not going to be a major tactical overhaul, Arsenal’s midfield will often have Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi operating in tandem. The other spot is up for grabs: Ødegaard was the shoo-in for years, Eze is fighting for the manager’s trust and Havertz may find himself in the engine room, given Arsenal’s available options in attack.

But there’s another possibility for Arteta to consider.

Myles Lewis-Skelly’s impressive breakthrough at left back means many might’ve forgotten that he is a midfielder by trade. That’s why he took to his inverted role, for both club and country, seamlessly, with his comfort in central zones obvious.

He’s fallen out of favour this season, with Piero Hincapié prising away his minutes, but Arteta, who rated the teenager enough to give him his big break, could turn to the robust academy graduate as a rotation option in the middle of the park while Merino’s out.

Lewis-Skelly cannot provide what Merino does in the air, nor on the ground, but the teenager is a stiff enough dueller who could help Arsenal drive up the pitch by virtue of his precise passing between the lines and ability to ride challenges when attacking space.

---