Dani Olmo of Barcelona conveyed a message to Mikel Merino of Arsenal following the Gunners’ recent victory over Chelsea. Merino, aged 28, netted the decisive goal in Sunday’s 1-0 win against their Premier League opponents.
The Spanish midfielder, who transferred from Real Sociedad for £27.4 million, has recently been deployed as a forward due to the injuries of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. In the match against Chelsea, he demonstrated his unexpected striking abilities by deftly flicking Martin Odegaard’s corner past Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and into the net, securing crucial three points for his team.
After the game, Merino took to Instagram to express his excitement with Arsenal supporters, sharing a photo of himself celebrating at the Emirates Stadium. Olmo, who has been linked with a potential transfer to Arsenal, also reached out to his fellow countryman.
In his post, Merino captioned it with “London derby,” accompanied by a red emoji, a golf flag emoji, and a football emoji. Olmo, who is also a teammate of Merino on the Spanish national team, replied with a single word: “Aura,” emphasizing the significant influence his international colleague is having in north London.
During the January transfer window, there were speculations about Olmo possibly joining Arsenal, along with interest from clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City, with a £5 million loan deal being discussed.
He had joined Barcelona the previous summer for just over £50 million after they activated his release clause at RB Leipzig, following Spain’s success at Euro 2024.
Despite facing challenges with his registration at the club, the versatile 26-year-old forward has continued to be part of Hansi Flick’s squad. Due to Barcelona’s financial difficulties, Olmo was only registered until December 31 when he signed.
Following this date, several clubs, including Arsenal, were speculated to be keen on acquiring him should Barcelona fail to register their summer acquisition. However, just over a week into the January transfer window, it was officially announced that Olmo had been registered with La Liga by the Catalan club, dispelling any rumors regarding a potential move to the Gunners.
This season, under the management of Hansi Flick, Olmo has participated in 27 matches, scoring seven goals and providing five assists. In contrast, Merino has contributed five goals and one assist for Arsenal.
His goals have transformed one point into three on two occasions in the Premier League, specifically during the 2-0 away victory against Leicester City and the triumph over Chelsea. Arteta promptly acknowledged the significant influence of the adaptable Spaniard.
In his post-match remarks, the Arsenal manager stated: “His approach is remarkable. He strives to comprehend everything and to learn from it. He is consistently self-critical. The reality is that he is securing victories for us.
“The importance of this was evident; it was a crucial match. Ultimately, we won the game because of that goal. I am very pleased with his contribution. We had worked on something similar from the set-piece, but that was a different type of finish we had planned.”
“It will generate belief in the team again, in the stadium with the crowd, that we can score. It’s something we’ve been missing when we were so prolific.”
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