Mikel Arteta Praises 'Incredible' Mikel Merino as Arsenal Edge Chelsea 1-0

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed Mikel Merino's 'incredible' performance after the midfielder scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, while Chelsea's Cole Palmer is set to miss England's World Cup qualifiers due to injury.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta sang the praises of Mikel Merino, the team's emergency centre-forward, after he scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday. Merino, a midfielder by trade, showcased his striker instincts with a well-placed header from Martin Odegaard's cross, which sailed over Robert Sanchez and into the net.

Arteta was impressed by Merino's performance, highlighting his dedication and eagerness to learn. “The way he's approaching this is incredible,” Arteta told reporters. “He wants to understand everything. He wants to learn from it. He's very critical of himself all the time. And at the end, the reality is that he wins matches for us.”

Merino's goal against Chelsea was not his first as an emergency striker. He had previously scored twice in a 2-0 win over Leicester City in February, coming on as a substitute to lead Arsenal's attack. Since then, he has been playing in that position, and his contributions have been invaluable to the team.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked about the significant 12-point gap between his team and league leaders Liverpool. Arteta emphasized that Arsenal's focus should be on winning every game, which would allow them to reassess their title challenge. “We have to win our matches. Win against Fulham and we will be close,” he said, looking ahead to the Gunners' next league match on April 1, following the international break and an FA Cup weekend.

🚨1️⃣ Mikel Arteta: “Chelsea are the best attacking team in the Premier League… and by a mile”.@BeanymanSports 🎥 pic.twitter.com/uNAy57lB2d

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 16, 2025

Both Arsenal and Chelsea were dealing with the absence of key players in their forward line. Chelsea's top scorer, Cole Palmer, suffered a muscle injury during training before the match against Arsenal. Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca expressed doubts about Palmer's availability for England's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Albania and Latvia. However, Maresca also saw the potential benefits of Palmer's enforced break. “We don’t wish players injury but in Cole’s case, in this moment probably he could get some rest, physically and mentally, it could be good,” Maresca said.