Merino shone in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at the King Power Stadium, scoring both goals after coming off the bench with just over 20 minutes to go. The dilemma for Mikel Arteta now is whether he starts Merino up front for this weekend’s clash with West Ham, or continues to use him as an impact player from the bench.

Mikel Merino scored twice for Arsenal against Leicester on the weekend and got the Gunners out of a hole in their pursuit of the Premier League title

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Moments before Merino was thrown on for the final 20 minutes at the King Power Stadium, he was collared by Arteta for some final instructions. It turned out to be a masterstroke. Merino’s two goals in the final 10 minutes secured a 2-0 win and, crucially, meant Arsenal kept pace with Liverpool in the title race.

The argument is that Merino, by sheer physical presence, is the closest player to Kai Havertz in the Arsenal squad, so should continue to take up the centre-forward spot. He was signed to play as a left-sided midfielder like Havertz, after all.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should prove Mikel Merino wrong and continue to utilise the 28-year-old as a makeshift striker when the Gunners host West Ham in the Premier League at the weekend. Merino came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of Arsenal’s clash with Leicester on Saturday and proved to be the matchwinner as he scored a quickfire brace.