'He's taken the best from Pep Guardiola' - Mikel Merino labels Mikel Arteta 'one of the world's best coaches' as he opens up on life with Arsenal coach

Merino, who moved back to the Premier League last summer to join the Gunners, has proved to be a very fruitful signing for the club as amid their injury crisis, the Spaniard has filled in as a makeshift number nine in Arteta's team. Since the change in his position, the 28-year-old has scored four goals in seven Premier League outings and has played a key role in keeping his club alive in the title race.

The Spain international spoke highly of manager Arteta as he claimed that the Arsenal boss has picked up the best from his former mentor Pep Guardiola, having worked as his assistant at Manchester City. Merino also hailed Arteta as 'one of the best coaches' in the world at the moment, while speaking on his experience of playing for the north London side.

Speaking to reporters, Merino said: "It's been a very nice year. I'm seeing things I've never worked on before in my career, and it's also helping me learn about football and grow. Arteta is a very complete coach. He's taken the best from Guardiola, and you can see that period he had with him every day.

"The idea is to be a dominant team, one that carries the weight of the game and doesn't let the opponent have the upper hand. To subdue them and greatly limit their attacks. Then I think he also has his touches, his methodology, and that's what the best do: take the best from each position. And I think he's, if not the best, undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the world."

Arsenal will be back in action in the Champions League next week as they host Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final fixture on April 8.