Mikel Merino's debut might have come later than he would have hoped, but the five weeks he has spent on the sidelines have not been wasted. Arsenal's new signing has been absorbing information, watching from afar and eventually diving back into training with his new teammates. Suffice to say, he is extremely impressed.
Having arrived from Real Sociedad in August, Merino's first training session with his new club proved to be an agonizing one. A collision with center back Gabriel left the Spain international with a severe shoulder injury, one that was initially expected to sideline him for anywhere up to eight weeks. Instead, Merino offered the Emirates Stadium the most pleasant of surprises on Tuesday night, a second half cameo in the 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain, suggesting that the new signing has just the blend of technique and muscularity that is so prized in north London right now.
Mikel Arteta heaped praise on his new signing after the game, noting that Merino had had only one training session with which to adapt himself to the rigors of Arsenal's game. To hear Merino explain it, there is plenty of adaptation required. "They do some things that I have never seen in my career," he said when asked about what he had observed at London Colney. "The methods they use are completely new to me, so obviously it takes some time to adapt. At the same time, I think that when you get it, you are in a different level because they challenge you every single day - not only physically, but mentally. That makes you be sharp mentally and that's what you are going to find out in the game.
"I don't want to tell everything that we do, but there is no rest between one moment and the other. They are always challenging you mentally with different stimuluses. It makes you always all the time aware of what is happening around you.
"The mentality that they have here is amazing, not only on the pitch, but at the training ground and how they focus on the single things, the details, the basics. When I spoke to Mikel and I saw what was the plan, not only with me but the whole team, what was the culture, I felt this was the right place to be to take the next step in my career. I want to grow up, I want to learn even more - and I think this is the right place to keep improving and keep winning."
Even before making his full debut, Merino's attitude had been widely praised around Arsenal. A hammer blow from a player of Gabriel's physicality would be enough to knock anyone off their stride and the 28-year-old does not try to hide his disappointment when reflecting on the extended wait to don his new colors for the first time.
"It was really tough mentally to be honest," said Merino. "To come in here, you want to have a nice few days, to show everybody what you are capable of, to show why they have put faith in you and then the first thing that happens is you break your scapula. It is tough to recover from that mentally.
"It was such an unlucky moment. If you see the action…it's just…I mean…I haven't seen an injury like this ever in my career. But, well, these are things that happen. Obviously it was not the best timing, but at the same time I like to look at the pros, the bright side of it. This gave me a lot of time to think, to get to know my teammates, to get to know the staff, to work on myself, the things that I need to do in terms of tactics, in terms of physicality and I think I am a much better player now than I was four weeks ago."
Merino knows what the end goal is. When it is put to him that being in the right place to improve must lead to trophies, his response is swift. "Obviously. Winning trophies is the main thing here for everybody. They are obsessed with that."