Mikel Merino has had a very stop, start time at Arsenal since making the leap from Real Sociedad and La Liga in the summer.

Merino injured his shoulder almost immediately after joining Arsenal, a period of recovery he actually thought somewhat helped him settle in north London.

Since returning from that issue, Merino has been in and out of Mikel Arteta’s starting side, not really able to make any position his own just yet.

Of course, long-term, Merino must be envisioned as Arsenal’s new left-sided number eight, the Granit Xhaka role if you will.

However, when playing 90 minutes in the position against Monaco, Merino left a little to be desired – he didn’t take his latest opportunity with any real authority.

Arsenal fans have their say on Mikel Merino’s efforts in 3-0 win over Monaco

Both during and after his display, Arsenal fans took to X to share their reviews of Merino’s efforts.

Arsenal paid £28m to sign Merino in the summer, and some supporters were already suggesting that those funds could have been much better spent.

One fan simply wrote: “Seen enough to know that Merino is bang average.”

Also posting at full-time, another supporter wrote: “Merino lost the ball countless times, I doubt this midfield can handle high pressure moments in big games.”

One fan actually referenced that Merino was intended to replace Xhaka at the Emirates Stadium, something he didn’t think he was fit for.

“Merino can’t turn, he’s so slow – people said he was an upgrade on Xhaka.”

Another fan said: “We might need to have a convo about Merino. Guy looks like he’s playing in slow mo.”

Overall, it does still feel as if many of the club’s supporters are still being pretty harsh on Merino.

The Spaniard is still getting up to full steam after his shoulder injury – an issue which is notoriously hard to come back from with any real haste.

And although he’s far from the finished product many fans thought was arriving in N5 after his glory with Spain at international level, Merino is still showing good signs.

Fans can’t repeat their Kai Havertz mistake with Merino, it’s not going to help his chances of succeeding in north London to any degree.

It has to be remembered that it was the first chance Merino had to play alongside both Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, a midfield trio which may be Arteta’s strongest long-term.

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