Mikel Merino’s version of Arsenal’s title-winning season does not start at a stadium.
It starts in a dressing room at the training ground, the morning after a 2-0 lead had slipped away at Wolves. In the letter he published on The Players’ Tribune on Thursday, Merino writes that the squad met without Mikel Arteta and spoke in turn.
“In my view, that was the day we won the title.”
The piece, titled “To the People Who Carried Me,” is addressed to his father, his mother, his son Marco and his wife Lola, the four people named in the final paragraph. It is one of the few long first-person accounts Merino has put his name to in his time in England.
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‘The most depressing PowerPoint of my life’
The letter opens on a slide show at Arsenal’s training ground earlier this year.
Merino had suffered a stress fracture in his right foot in Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on 25 January, and the club confirmed days later that he would need surgery on a bone injury in his right foot.
“Last February, I had to watch the most depressing PowerPoint of my life.”
A club doctor talked him through the images.
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“As this picture shows, it’s a stress fracture in your right foot…”
Merino writes that the specialist running the scan had done them for thirty years and had never seen a stress fracture in that part of the foot. Five of the leading specialists in the world, consulted on the case, had not seen one either. On Arsenal’s own channel at the time, Merino said he and the staff “didn’t know what to expect from it, what path to go through during the recovery and if I was going to be able to play again”.
The operation, in his words, was blunt.
“They told me they could drill two screws into my foot to give it support.”
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‘Mikel, I’m sorry. It’s impossible’
A specialist’s verdict on his summer plans was flat.
“Mikel, I’m sorry. It’s impossible.”
Merino did not accept it. His answer in the letter is one line.
“I will be at the World Cup, no matter what.”
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The way back ran through north London.
“Finally, they agreed to give me half an hour against Palace. The weird part was that I felt like a rookie, like I had to relearn how to play football.”
Three months later, he was on the pitch at MetLife Stadium for the World Cup final against Argentina. Spain won it 1-0 in extra time through Ferran Torres, with Merino’s run across the box pulling the defence away from the finish.
“I drew three players with me, and Ferran had so much space. 1-0.”
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His line on the aftermath of lifting the trophy is one sentence.
“I cannot ask any more of life.”
Arteta’s team talks
The piece is also one of the few places Merino has written publicly about what Arteta is like inside the dressing room.
“Every team talk, he reached into our hearts. He spoke about looking out for one another, like a family.”
The Premier League title itself was watched together at the training ground. Arsenal needed Manchester City to drop points, and Arteta rearranged the day for it.
“Once we knew that City had to win their next game to stay in the race, the boss pushed training back so that we could watch it together at Colney.”
‘You never let me fall’
The letter ends on the four people it is written for.
“To Dad, for his mentorship, and the lucky socks. To Mom, for letting me dream. To Marco, for being the centre of my universe. And to Lola, for helping me up the stairs.”
Then a single sign-off.
“You never let me fall.”
Merino returned from the October international break with two goals off the bench in Spain’s 2-1 win over Croatia, the latest step in his shift from a midfielder with two goals in his first 30 caps to a goal threat with 13 in his last 24. Arsenal beat Lille 2-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday night to make it two wins from two in this season’s Champions League group stage.
