'He can smell danger' - is Merino Arsenal's striker solution?

Arsenal's failed search for a striker was looming large in manager Mikel Arteta's rear view mirror - until he discovered the answer might have been sitting right behind him at Leicester City.

The Gunners looked every inch a team without a recognised main forward as they laboured and spluttered to break down Leicester City's game but limited resistance at King Power Stadium.

It was then, after 69 minutes and with Arsenal's title pursuit losing momentum, Arteta put Raheem Sterling out of his misery and turned to Mikel Merino, the Spain midfield man signed from Real Sociedad for £32.6m last August.

Arsenal started with Leandro Trossard as a false nine. This did not work and it was Merino's arrival and accomplished finishing with both goals in the 2-0 win, that has given Arteta very palatable food for thought and kept the Gunners firmly in the title hunt.

William Saliba offered himself up as a potential striker solution after Kai Havertz suffered a season-ending hamstring injury on Arsenal's sunshine break to Dubai, but this was not an option given his high-class quality in defence.

Arteta suggested another defender, Riccardo Calafiori, might be in the frame and the Italian has shown an eye for a goal - but Merino has made his case in Arsenal's state of emergency, scoring twice in a game for the first time since 2016.

It was a tactical switch that had a touch of desperation as well as improvisation, but Arteta and Merino must take the credit as Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to 15 games in the Premier League - 10 wins and five draws. It is their best run since going 16 games unbeaten between December 2010 and April 2011 under Arsene Wenger.

A delighted Arteta said: "Mikel has a sense of danger and great timing in the box. We were composed, scored two brilliant goals and could have scored one or two more."

He added: "He has got a goal threat. He can smell danger. He can anticipate the action. He's got really good timing to arrive in certain areas and execute.

"We are going to have various contexts and we are prepared. We have to have the pictures in our heads for these scenarios. We have to see where the game is and what is demanded. In this game we believed it was him. The hardest thing then is to deliver and he did.

"I think the game started to suit him more because Leicester started to defend much deeper. We had more momentum, more sequences, more set-pieces as well in that period. And we believed that he could impact the game. We were lucky that he did it."

The 6ft 2in Merino's height and stature make him an obvious threat and so it proved. He stole in to head home powerfully from Ethan Nwaneri's right-wing cross with nine minutes left, before finishing with confidence after 87 minutes to wrap up the win that leaves Arsenal four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool having played a game more.

The player himself played down the notion he might figure more as a striker, but on this evidence Arteta may give him no say in the matter as he makes his plans without Havertz and Gabriel Jesus until next season.

Merino said when asked about starting as a striker: "I don't think so to be honest. It is certainly the first time I have scored two coming off the bench as a striker."

He told BBC Match Of The Day: "It was big news for me this morning when one of the assistants told me this was an option. It's the first time in my career that I've played in this position, but the good thing is that the way this team plays, everyone knows what to do.

"Mikel told me to use my strengths in the box and I was in the right place at the right time. I've not trained there once but I know what everyone has to do on the pitch. Tactically, we are a rich team and I just tried to emulate all the guys who are out injured."

If Merino, justifiably, grabbed the headlines, it was 17-year-old Nwaneri who was Arsenal's overall inspiration with a superb performance of skill, confidence, pace and maturity.

Nwaneri delivered the inviting cross for Merino's opener, having previously hit the woodwork twice in Arsenal's only serious moments of threat before those late goals.

Arteta was lavish in his praise of Nwaneri, as well as his fellow teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly, who ensured Arsenal stayed on level terms by applying a vital touch to Jordan Ayew's cross with Bobby de Cordova-Reid waiting to tap in a simple finish at the far post with the scoreline goalless.

He said: "Physically they are built in a really special way already. Emotionally and mentally, how composed they are, and how they make decisions on the pitch are really impressive, so let them go."

Arsenal's nerves and anxiety were mounting until Merino stepped into the breach, the lack of a serious central threat obvious as every attempt floundered near goal with Leicester City holding firm.

In among that pre-Merino mediocrity, it was a dismal day for Sterling, who struggled to do a thing right and looked short of confidence and the old pace before Arteta decided he had seen enough.

Sterling looked crestfallen as he walked off, another opportunity missed for the 30-year-old former England forward to show he can still be a going concern at this level as he continues to struggle at Arsenal after being marginalised by Chelsea.

No such problems for Merino, who has not had a full effect in midfield since his Arsenal arrival but may now have the chance to do so further forward as Arteta looks to solve his most pressing problem.

And there was a touch of belated romance about Merino's heroics and Arsenal's win as the Spain midfielder said: "I forgot to give my wife something for Valentine's Day so this goes to her. I think she will appreciate this more than a rose and some chocolate."

What Mrs Merino's view is on this we do not know - but what is certain is that it was the best present Arteta and Arsenal could have received.