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| Michel Merino wife Lola Instagram |
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Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino offered his wife a 'special gift'.
Merino recalled his wife after scoring multiple goals in the 25th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Leicester City at King Power Stadium in Leicester, England, on the 16th (Korea time).
"I think today is a great day to score," said Spain's Merino, who was selected as the man of the match and interviewed broadcaster TNT Sports. Because I forgot to give my wife a present for Valentine's Day. I'll dedicate this goal to my wife," he said.
Merino says "Wife would prefer this gift to roses and chocolates," he said with a smile.
Lola Liberal, a Spanish model who married Merino in January last year, shared a photo of her husband Merino performing a goal ceremony on her personal Instagram page and wrote, "It's the best gift ever!!" responded.
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| Michel Merino wife Lola Instagram |
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Merino, who moved to Arsenal from Real Sociedad last summer for a transfer fee of 31.6 million pounds (current exchange rate of about 57 billion won), left the biggest impact in the Gunners' uniform.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta, who had a series of offensive resources such as Gabriel Jejues, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, set up a three-top with Leandro Trossar, Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling, but was worried because he could not open the opponent's goal.
In the middle of the second half, he added Jorginho instead of Merino, Thomas Partey, and Ricardo Calafior instead of Miles Lewis Skelly to set the game up, and the replacement technique was perfect.
At the center of the dramatic victory was Merino, who turned into a striker by surprise. In the 36th minute of the second half, Nwaneri attempted a left-footed cross towards the gate from the right side of the penalty area. Merino, who was waiting in front of the gate, scored the first goal with a header using a height of 1m89.
He didn't stop here, but scored an additional goal in the 42nd minute of the second half. Merino, who quickly ran to the opponent's side in a counterattack, scored a calm non-stop left-footed shot from a cross stabbed by Trossar on the left side. His scoring skills were similar to those of Olivier Giroud who played for Arsenal in the past.
Merino scored back-to-back goals just six minutes apart, giving the leading team three valuable points. Arsenal, the second-ranked team with three consecutive league wins and 15 consecutive undefeated games, scored 53 points, pressing Liverpool (57 points), the leader of the league who played one less game, by four points. Liverpool will play its home game against Hwang Hee-chan's team, Wolverhampton, on the 16th.
Merino, who scored his third and fourth goals of the season, has emerged as the right person to solve the team's striker absence for the rest of the season. Arteta said "Merino has a good smell of scoring. I can predict the next situation, and I know exactly when to reach a particular area. He also praised his ability to score with many parts of his body." Merino, who was selected as Spain's representative at Euro 2024 in Germany last summer, scored a theater goal in the 14th minute of the second half of extra time against host Germany in the quarterfinals to lead the team to a 2-1 victory. Spain won the competition.
As there are no players among Arsenal's top resources to return immediately, chances are high that he will take the one-top role in the home game against West Ham on the 23rd. It is no exaggeration to say that Nwaneri and Merino, who showed fantastic performances on the day, hold the key to Arsenal's challenge to win the title.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
