London: After all the hand-wringing about Arsenal’s lack of a striker, it turns out Mikel Merino may have been the unexpected solution.
Merino eased Arsenal’s attacking concerns with two late goals off the bench to secure a 2-0 win at relegation-threatened Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday.
With Arsenal playing its first game since leading scorer Kai Havertz was ruled out for the season, its makeshift front three struggled to create chances until Merino — a central midfielder — went on in the 69th minute to play as a striker.
The Spain international looked like a natural center forward as he quickly got on the end of two good crosses, heading home a pinpoint ball into the box from 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri in the 81st and then steering in a low assist from Leandro Trossard in the 87th.
Arsenal tried and failed to sign a striker in the January transfer window even before Havertz joined a long list of injured forwards, leaving manager Mikel Arteta with no other option than to tell Merino to play up front.
