He might claim otherwise, but it was apparent that Mikel Arteta has been stung by the discourse that surrounded Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool prior to the international break. Given an opportunity to wax lyrical about Mikel Merino, hat-trick hero of Spain's evisceration of Turkey in World Cup qualifiers, Arteta chose to dig a bit deeper down the timeline.

"I heard some comments about how we played with three midfielders [at Anfield], defensive midfielders I think was the narrative," said Arteta. "Mikel [Merino] has to play in an attacking midfielder. I don't know when was the last attacking midfielder to score three goals. So it's very interesting to learn what perception is, especially when you lose a football match."

Arsenal had indeed lost their first football match of the sea

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