Here are 10 players Arsenal could sign in Merino's absence
It's not easy finding a temporary midfielder
What a difference a year makes, eh?
Some of us were in the trenches fighting tooth and nail to defend Mikel Merino’s honor at this point about halfway through last season. And now, in the Lord’s year 2026, his absence is seen as … kind of a big deal, while some fans even push for him to start at striker ahead of Viktor friggin’ Gyökeres.
Of course, the reason for that shift is because pretty much exactly what I told you in 2024 has come true — he’s proven himself to be an extremely useful squad player who can step up when needed in a big spot.
We don’t have a lot of details on how long Merino will be out — reports currently call his injury a suspected broken bone in his foot — and unfortunately that comes with a pretty wide range of outcomes. Mikel Arteta said just today that there is hope Merino can return this season, a comment which was somewhat optimistic but also pushes this into more like a two-months-or-more kind of thing, rather than a six weeks out thing.
Such an absence would leave Arsenal’s depth chart lighter by one very useful and versatile piece, but can Arsenal reasonably replace him? I’m more prone to believe a player who would offer much — if any — help is more likely a permanent signing type, but you never know who will shake loose on the loan market.
If Arsenal decline to move for a Merino replacement, that would leave the side with essentially three options up front — Jesus, Gyökeres, Havertz — along with Declan Rice, Havertz, Martin Ødegaard, Ebere Eze, Martín Zubimendi and Christian Nørgaard to split minutes in the three midfield positions. That’s without more creative or less-proven options like Myles Lewis-Skelly, who appears to be a long-term midfielder, and others such as Leandro Trossard, who could always move more to an inside 10 role in a pinch.
The depth may not be ideal, but it probably does get you through the remaining schedule in decent shape, considering there are now 14 Premier League matches, a maximum of 7 Champions League matches, 2 Carabao Cup matches (max) and no more than 5 FA Cup matches to go, for a total of 28 matches at the absolute most, some of which Merino could return for.
But Arteta said it himself - if Arsenal find something worth doing, they’ll do it. So, hypothetically speaking, who could the club actually bring in? Here’s a quick list of guys who either fit the Merino mold (using the ADAM 2.0 formula) ore are unsettled enough that they could be tempted into a move.
