If you were to picture a Spanish international midfielder, signed from La Liga for around £30 million, what would he look like? Based on the history of Spaniards in the Premier League, most people would probably expect an imaginative,

Merino did not sign for Arsenal until late August as negotiations with Real Sociedad rumbled on, meaning he did not play a single pre-season friendly. When the midfielder finally completed his move, he suffered a shoulder injury in his first training session and could not make his debut until October.

Arsenal cut the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 win against Brentford and one Gunners star certainly caught the eye among his teammates and manager