He’s winning matches for us – Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praises Mikel Merino

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said stand-in number nine Mikel Merino is “winning matches” for his side after he scored his fifth Premier League goal of the season in a 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Emirates.

Arteta has been without a fit senior striker in recent weeks but the impact of that has been mitigated by the acclimatisation in the role of Merino, who stooped to send an intelligent, looping header over goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the 19th minute as Arsenal rediscovered their habit of scoring from set-pieces.

The goal settled a London derby that will not live long in the memory, with Chelsea – who were without the injured Cole Palmer, a possible doubt now for England – barely contributing as an attacking force as they continue to beat an unconvincing path towards possible Champions League qualification.

Enzo Maresca’s side were also operating without a striker, with winger Pedro Neto again filling in with limited success.

Arteta, though, appears to have found a workable solution in Merino.

“The way he’s approaching it is incredible,” said Arteta. “He wants to understand everything and to learn from it. He’s very critical of himself all the time. The reality is that he’s winning matches for us.

“The value of it, it was a big match. In the end we win the game because of that goal. Very happy with his contribution.

“We worked on something similar (from the set-piece), but that. To be fair it was a different kind of finish planned.

“It will generate belief in the team again, in the stadium with the crowd, that we can score. It’s something we’ve been missing when we were so prolific.”

The win was Arsenal’s first in four matches and keeps them well-placed to finish second behind Liverpool.

Despite Chelsea’s limited ambition with the ball, Arteta made the surprise declaration that he considers the Blues to be the best attacking team in the league “by a mile”. He added: “The stats say it, everything that I’ve seen says it.

“It’s my opinion. I have a lot data, and as well what I’ve seen in the games they play. But I might be wrong.”

On the nature of Palmer’s injury, which casts doubt on his participation with Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad, Maresca said: “He needs a scan, it is planned for Monday morning. It’s a muscle problem.

“Probably in Cole’s case it will give him some rest physically and mentally. It could be good.”

Maresca, who has repeatedly said his team cannot rely on Palmer to provide their creative thrust, said he did not think the performance showed Chelsea are unable to function without him.

“I didn’t have this feeling,” he said. “If Nico (Nicolas Jackson) was there or Noni (Madueke) was there, probably the team would be different. It’s not just about one player.

“When I say we cannot rely on Cole it’s just because I think it’s correct to say. You cannot rely on one player, don’t give too much pressure to Cole.”