Damning Arsenal stat proves Mikel Arteta must never start Mikel Merino and Declan Rice in the same team again
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Credit:Imago
Aasif Rahman
Mon 22 September 2025 10:15, UK
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s persistence in continuing with Mikel Merino and Declan Rice may be starting to backfire, given their record when playing together.
Arteta was slammed for his starting line-up against Manchester City, with the likes of Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri on the bench in favour of Merino in midfield.
The Spaniard ended up being hooked at half-time after Erling Haaland opened the scoring, before Gabriel Martinelli struck late on to rescue a point for the Gunners.
While Merino has been in goalscoring form for Spain, netting four in the latest international break, that hasn’t translated to club football.
After the latest draw, a troubling statistic has emerged about his partnership with Rice, and it already looks like a combination that has already cost Arsenal.
In the Premier League, Merino and Rice have started together in midfield in ten games, and the Gunners have only won one of those matches.
That win was against now-relegated 4-0 Ipswich Town, and at a time when the side’s primary focus was the Champions League.
Arsenal’s last five games with Merino and Rice startingWin/Loss/DrawArsenal 1-1 Man CityDrawLiverpool 1-0 ArsenalLossIpswich 0-4 ArsenalWinEverton 1-1 ArsenalDrawArsenal 2-2 Aston VillaDrawArsenal’s last five games with Mikel Merino and Declan Rice starting
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It seems as if Arteta has trusted Merino to fill the void of Martin Odegaard, who is injured with a recurring shoulder knock.
But the side had natural replacements for creative options against Man City such as Eze, Nwaneri who were on the bench, while 15-year-old Max Dowman was not included in the squad.
The issue for Arteta is Rice and Merino fill similar profiles in the team, and the same ploy was started against Liverpool
But their lack of creativity was also evident against the Reds, as they managed just one shot on target as Liverpool beat Arsenal at Anfield with a 1-0 win.
Eze was dropped against Man City.
(Credit Imago)
Arsenal fans had slammed the decision to bench Eze against City, and his impact after coming on was apparent following his assist for Martinelli’s stoppage-time equaliser.
The Englishman also generated the most Expected Assists than any other player against City, after just playing 45 minutes [@xGPhilosophy on X]
With the side coming against Port Vale in midweek, before a tough trip to Newcastle, time will tell if Arteta chooses Eze to provide that creative spark or persist with the more pragmatic midfield pairing that has failed to convince.