Arsenal had two big concerns about summer signing Mikel Merino

Arsenal sanctioned the signing of Mikel Merino despite harbouring two big concerns about the Spain international.

The 28-year-old has endured a difficult start to his Gunners career and has struggled to find a settled place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.

Merino arrived with a measure of Premier League experience having previously played for Newcastle but his hopes of making an instant impact were scuppered in his very first training session.

After a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes, Merino was forced to miss six matches with a shoulder injury.

Signed with the intention of filling the left eight role vacated by Granit Xhaka 18 months ago, Merino but he has struggled to adapt to the demands of the role.

Arteta has regularly praised a player he fought hard to recruit despite the club reserving reservations, according to The Athletic, over the player’s age and potential resale value.

The likely summer arrival of Merino’s former Sociedad teammate Martin Zubimendi, may well see him enjoy a better second season but for now he must find a way to dovetail with the likes of Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal are currently seven points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title and are all but out of both domestic cup competitions.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup defeat against Manchester United, Merino said: ‘Nowadays with social media and everything around football, you obviously hear a little bit of what’s happening with the fans. But as players, what we try to do is just lock down that noise.

‘We know how difficult it is to win every single game in this league where every team is really, really strong.

‘It is about finding that balance, finding that middle ground, where you’re not always at the top of the mountain or falling down. When you don’t feel that pressure, that’s where the best performance will come.’

Merino, a 6ft 2in defensively-minded midfielder, was perhaps not the attacking mind that Arsenal fans craved during the last transfer window.

‘I might be big and strong, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have other qualities,’ he added.

‘Obviously, I’m not a David Silva style of player. But the pass-first mentality, keeping the ball, and not feeling the pressure when you have a player on your back. Those are things that I have in my game.

‘I’m not going to be the player who moves in the pocket like David Silva did or like (Andres) Iniesta did. I’m a different kind of player. But I also have the same mentality as they had.’