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Mikel Merino is expected to lead the line again when Arsenal travel to Sunderland on Saturday.

The Gunners are currently without all three of their recognised strikers as Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres are injured.

Merino is expected to play as a No9 in their absence and he did so against Slavia Prague on Tuesday, scoring twice .

“He’s such an intelligent and competitive player that he can adapt to any position,” said Mikel Arteta .

“Because, first of all, he’s so willing to do his very best, to understand what he needs to do. He’s always asking q

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