Mikel Merino: No Viktor Gyokeres, no problem – makeshift frontman steps up for Arsenal again

The sight of Mikel Merino wheeling away in celebration after scoring while playing as a striker is something Arsenal fans have got used to over the past nine months.

And the midfielder-turned-frontman was at it again on Tuesday, scoring twice in their 3-0 Champions League win at Slavia Prague.

The 29-year-old was filling in for Viktor Gyokeres, whose muscle injury is “concerning” manager Mikel Arteta as the Swede prepares for further tests.

Thankfully, he need not be concerned about Merino’s ability to step up and deliver for the Gunners, whose fourth straight success in the league phase extended their winning run to 10 in all competitions.

“It’s a joy to have him,” admitted Arteta. “It’s his mindset, it’s his leadership, it’s the way he is as a person.

“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.”

Merino first stepped up as a makeshift frontman for the Gunners in February when he scored twice in the Premier League win at Leicester following a hamstring injury to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus’ cruciate ligament injury (ACL) a month earlier.

That was the first time that Merino had taken on that role since he was a child.

He then scored crucial goals in wins against Chelsea, Fulham and Real Madrid and ended the last campaign with nine in all competitions.

Merino has three this term, also netting at Newcastle on 28 September, where Arsenal last conceded before a run of eight clean sheets to equal a club record set back in 1903.