Mikel Merino has pinpointed a players-only meeting as the decisive moment in Arsenal’s Premier League title win last season. The Spanish midfielder said the squad gathered without manager Mikel Arteta the day after a frustrating 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Wolves in January, a result that saw the team's lead at the top of the standings cut to just two points.
Merino described a frank discussion where every player spoke. No tactics were analysed. Instead, the group focused on how they would handle adversity together as criticism mounted from outside the club. "One slip, and all we heard was ‘same old Arsenal’," Merino said. "To be honest, there were doubts inside the team too." He explained that players had to take responsibility because the manager could not solve every problem. The meeting forged a tighter bond, which proved vital when Arsenal suffered back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester City in April. "In my view, that was the day we won the title," Merino stated. "Even when we lost to Bournemouth and City, that meeting kept us together."
That resilience saw Arsenal win their final five games to be crowned champions with a match to spare, aided by Manchester City being held by Bournemouth. Merino, writing in The Players Tribune, praised Arteta for creating a family-like culture but stressed the players' own initiative was key. He highlighted the collective strength of the entire squad as the foundation for their success.
That winning mentality continues into the new campaign. Arsenal currently sit second in the Premier League with 15 points from six games, just three points behind leaders Manchester City. Their recent form shows four wins from the last five, a run they will look to extend at Nottingham Forest this weekend. The next test is away to 15th-placed Forest on Saturday, a key match in their busy upcoming fixtures list.
More detail at Daily Mirror Football
