I was really struggling to find what the theme was from the Brentford game. I finally landed on how Arsenal are over complicating their attacking style, but you’ll read about that another day because I had an epiphany.
I’m always ashamed to say that I haven’t given this enough attention already.
My enlightenment started when discussing Mikel Merino online. He has had by far the greatest year of his career in 2025 for club and country. I just forgot to ask myself why? It should be ready obvious because a guy who has averaged five goals and five assists his entire career has gotten 27 goals and assists in 2025. That’s a rather large clue, right?
The answer is that he plays for Mikel Arteta.
A coach who will go down as perhaps the most thorough coach in football in history. I can’t think of any competition for him in this regard.
He may not win as many trophies as others, but it most certainly won’t be because he didn’t try to squeeze every little last drop out of every area that could impact his Football Club.
Mikel Arteta improves players. That is absolutely undisputed. It’s just not talked about enough.
The British media aren’t really interested in discussing improvement in any depth, ever. That is also undisputed.
As it is so incredibly obvious that players that come to play under Arteta have improved, it’s not that I don’t believe that the media haven’t seen it. It’s just if they get into that conversation then they will drown because there’s only a couple of them that can swim in modern footballing waters.
The game will be considered forgettable in time. In fact, I’m struggling to think of much to talk about in regards to Wednesday, but this discussion on individual improvement is deep and long, which is marvelous.
Let’s start with Merino as he was the main story of the game.
Merino:
When all of our strikers were injured he was chosen based on two things. His composure in front of goal and his tactical brain.
When the coach was asked in an interview who the most tactical at the club was, he said it was Mikel Merino. What we are now seeing an is intelligent player being used to his strengths in the air and with his one touch accurate finishing. All of it is a blend of the training pitch and his tactical intelligence.
You might think that this is what the job of a coach is, but most coaches don’t even attempt to improve players. They just take them ‘as is’ or just yell at them if they can’t do what is being asked.
Merino isn’t just finishing chances regularly. He is dropping deep to overload the central areas and making himself hard to mark because he’s arriving late in the box.
We are now at the point where we legitimately have four strikers. Jesus and VG are back on the bench and Kai is a matter of weeks away. Who would you start? If the answer is not Merino, then I bet you had to think for a while before you sat him down.
We have also forgotten that he is currently playing for the best two teams in the world. Spain are rightly number one in the FIFA rankings and Arsenal should be if they aren’t already.
He’s starting for both teams and regularly scoring goals as an adapted striker.
That label might change though. It is so incredibly rare that a player who has made it to the top level changes position permanently. In fact, I can’t remember anybody doing it and becoming better than they were. Possibly Fellaini but he wasn’t multi- faceted.
Hold on! There are a few at a club in North London.
I think we are starting to see Arteta’s legacy with clarity now.
Rice, Calafiori, Lewis Skelly, Timber and then Merino. All of them have moved position since joining Arsenal. All of them have become better players in their new roles.
Timber:
He wasn’t supposed to play on Wednesday. Then he comes on and plays a position that he only now plays for his national team, and he is without mistake, as usual.
He gets a lot of personal credit for being the best one on one defender around, but is that him reviewing video or going down the local park after training with his mates? I think we are safe to say that Timber, alongside every other Arsenal player, is getting one on one coaching. You marry that with his physique, which is unmatched in modern football and you start seeing opponents, intentionally and regularly avoiding his side of the field.
His greatest improvement is his attacking. The common thought was that he was the better defender and Ben White was the better attacker. Burst two different things on attack Due to this improvement, he is finding himself doing a larger variety of actions as White is only used for an overlap. He’s having some of the most touches in the opponent box and often is the spare man inside the box. None of this was thanks to Ajax.
Rice:
When Rice arrived, he was considered one of the best in his position in the league. I suppose that’s why we were more than willing to pay over a 100M for him.
Now he is considered one of the best, if not the best in Europe.
Batman became Batman because he could go on offense and finish off the bad guys or he could play defense and stop them from destroying.
Rice is Batman now where he used to be Robin.
Another player that had to completely change his role and responsibilities. A player being used according to his superpower of athleticism and stamina. People have elevated his status because other left eights can specialize in attacking or defending whereas Rice can do both.
Against Brentford, we saw what could end up being the next evolution of his game. He was on the ball on the top of the box and instead of switching it to the next man, he sent the defender the wrong way and bent a shot to the far post. I’ve been screaming for this evolution because as they say in Tennessee, “ that boy can kick the ball proper.”
Calafiori:
The man who looks and plays like a model.
Calm and in control to the point where he looks ‘cool’ on the field where everyone else looks understandably flustered.
He has been given the best job on the team. The job that every creative player wants.
Freedom.
He wanders into open spaces so he can connect. He has the freedom to run with the ball into the box and is significantly more accurate than most attackers in the league when he’s shooting and finishing. He can do everything and because he can do everything, he gets the job.
His improvement has been understanding his new role and making himself increasingly more effective. Even more important is that his one-on-one defending posture is now so good that what was once his weakness is now a strength. This gives opponent coaches a real conundrum. They can’t go down Timber’s side and they’re having no success on Califiori’s side, either. There is no side to penetrate at Arsenal as the centre is arguably even stronger than the wings.
Gabriel:
Let’s keep this one simple. He was a project and a possibility when he arrived. Much like Lokonga, Tavares, etc.…
He is now arguably the best center back in the world.
The big difference that I’m trying to illuminate is that if other teams want a player of this level, they have to sign him at this level because they are unable or unwilling to improve them like Arsenal are.
Zubimendi:
Do you know why he rejected Liverpool when he was 9/10ths of the way to Anfield? He spoke to Arteta.
Our coach told him to wait a year and told him what the plan was for his personal improvement.
I remember wondering at the time why a player would reject the team that was on track to win the Premier League and achieved it.
This moment in time is a commercial in itself for the power that our coach has because he treats players like individuals rather than just another player to join his team.
Saliba:
If you were trying to find the best example of what can happen if you truly care for a players development, then you would look at Saliba.
It must’ve been tempting for Arsenal to bring him straight into the team because the team wasn’t very good at the time. They paused for two years and even though he probably had some reservations, I’m sure he looks back on his time on loan in France and looks at where he is at now and sees the direct benefit of trusting a coach like Mikel.
We were sold a dream of signing a defender that could one day become one of the world’s best. Being sold dreams is something that people are more and more skeptical about these days because of those in power who sell us dreams , but intend on doing the literal opposite. It affects our daily lives and so when the next best thing is sold to us, we normally say ‘ I don’t believe you.’
If William Saliba isn’t already the best centre back in the world then it’s the guy next to him so take your pick.
His improvement has been slow and steady, but consistent, and so has not caught the attention as it should have, but when you look at the beginning and the end rather than the plan in between, you see it differently.
Raya:
His improvement is seen in another. Ramsdale was very popular with the Arsenal fans and generally speaking was an asset to the team. Raya coming in caused many questions to be asked, but not now. One goalkeeper has gone south and our keeper has gone north in his improvement.
He is never caught undecided like Manuel Neuer. His positioning on crosses is adventurous but stops over 50% of dangerous crosses from becoming headers on target and his reactions are unmatched.
Ben White:
Not sure why I always feel the need to call him by both of his names.
I forget that he is yet another player who has changed position and responsibilities since being at Arsenal.
I suppose I forget because he seems so natural at it.
So in this instance rather than brag about his improvements, I think that Ben White is a great example of what Arteta has done at the club. A player so good at the position that he has been moved to that we don’t even talk about it anymore.
I don’t know what time Arteta gets to bed, but he’s doing so much more with his coaching staff than any other coach. Look around the league and compare the individual improvements that we are seeing at Arsenal compared to other places where players just play where they play.
You might be asking, ‘what’s wrong with that?’
The answer is ‘not much really,’ but this moves the discussion to character as well as ability.
Arteta values a players character and willingness to do what is needed over his ‘position.’ If he finds a guy who is the right guy to have on campus and he was willing to switch positions without complaint then he is more likely to work tirelessly with this player rather than sign a ready-made version.
It will be another part of his legacy when people stop judging results only. They will see that he revolutionized coaching thinking by loading his squad with the right people versus the expensive transfer.
Trossard:
The winger without the razzle dazzle. A player who would never make a best 11 or win an individual trophy, but who can point to his importance through either statistics or in a compilation video.
He reminds me of Eze in that he has the habit of making the difference when it’s really needed.
Eze has just started, but he’s chipped the ball over two back fours and scored some very important goals.
He offers efficiencies that coaches always prefer over talent.
Trossard reminds me of the danger of going on YouTube. YouTube will show you the very best of a player and because we are addicted to the razzle dazzle, we are far more likely to watch a compilation of Estevao than Trossard, even though I bet you Trossard will make a bigger impact in this league in his career.
His improvement when he stepped up a level has been obvious and he is now, like Merino, a clutch player that you want on the pitch when the game is in the balance.
Havertz:
Even though fans don’t like it, it is normal for an international player to take three or four months to adapt to the Premier League. Some take a full season and become twice the player in their second season.
Not all of them adjust but Kai got better and better last season. Much like Merino. He just kept adding to his game and became a Swiss Army knife.
Gyokeres:
We will finish with VG.
Some people are concerned that he won’t become what we thought he was.
If you’re unsure, then read this blog again, and I would say that the chances are that he absolutely will, and not necessarily because of his own volition, but because of those he surrounds himself with now, and their desire for him to be the best he can be.
Sorry about stepping away from the structure of the blog, but I think once you dabble in personal improvement, Arsenal have a long list of people with their hands in the air saying ‘what about me?!’
Former Highbury regular. Moved to TN, USA in ’99. Married with 3 kids. Coached in UK and US for 27 years.
Mike McDonald Soccer Academy in Morristown TN, Olympic Development coach, Regional Premier League Champion.
I think that Madueki has huge potential but that that may not be realised unless Noni gets some excellent one on one coaching to sharpen the positives and iron out the flaws. If both of these can be achieved then the sky is the limit. No better man than Mikel to make that happen.
Excellent post, but yes, don’t expect the nauseating UK media to pick up on any of the analysis you’ve so clearly highlighted, it’s beyond their capabilities.
The comfort that so many of our players show when performing in positions, during games, outside of their normal remit reminds me of the Holland team of 1974, the most complete team I’ve ever seen. When Arsenal are in the groove they’re a joy to behold, even when we’re up against it from opponents and officials we still have a technical intelligence that is above and beyond most teams across the UK and europe, Bayern being the most competent opponent we’ve faced so far this season.
Thanks for the post.