Sports predictions
Mikel Merino

Mikel MerinoCM#23

Arsenal·Midfield - Central Midfield

30 years(22/06/1996)1,88mleftSpainContract until 30/06/2028

6.87Rating49 matches in 12 months
€25.00mMarket value#22 in Arsenal

Last 5rating per match

Premier Leag01.116.5
UEFA Champio04.118.7
Premier Leag08.116.1
World Cup Qu15.117
World Cup Qu18.116.5

Form, 12 monthsaverage rating per month

7.00Nov
6.90Dec
7.00Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
6.30May
6.60Jun
7.10Jul
7.00Aug
6.70Sep
6.90Oct

Key statsPremier League · UEFA Champions League · UEFA Nations League · EFL Cup

Goals40.69 / 90
xG0.510.28 / 90
Assists10.17 / 90
xA0.00
Shots172.94 / 90
Shots on target847%
Key passes71.21 / 90
Pass accuracy83.9%

xG — expected goals: the quality of the chances taken; xA — expected assists: the quality of the chances created. Values per 90 minutes are shown under the totals. What xG, npxG, xA and xGChain mean

Player profileattributes and traits

ATTACKING63TECHNIQUE54TACTICAL55DEFENDING51CREATIVITY66

Player Position average

Attacking63
Technique54
Tactical55
Defending51
Creativity66

Strengths

No outstanding strengths

Weaknesses

No outstanding weaknesses

Player positions: MC

Positions on the pitch

CMAttack →

Reality checkactual vs expected, by season

Goals vs xG

-1.7

Goals xG · total 4 / 5.7

Assists vs xA

+0.7

Assists xA · total 3 / 2.3

Bars above xG mean the player scores more than the quality of his chances suggests; a long run below xG is usually a finishing problem, a short one — variance.

Availability

StatusInjuredsince 30.01.2026
Missed matches21last 12 months
National teamSpain logoSpain51 caps · 12 goals
Contract until30/06/2028
Market value€25.00mHighest: €50.00m (30/12/2021)

Season statsSeason 26/27

CompetitionTeamSeasonAppsMinRatingGAG+AYCRC
Premier League logoPremier LeagueArsenal logoArsenal26/2781836.64——01—
UEFA Champions League logoUEFA Champions LeagueArsenal logoArsenal26/2731386.50——01—
UEFA Nations LeagueSpain logoSpain26/2741097.18314——
EFL CupArsenal logoArsenal26/271907.201—1——
Transfers9
DateSeasonFromToFeeMarket value
27/08/202424/25Real SociedadArsenal€32.00m€50.00m
12/07/201818/19NewcastleReal Sociedad€12.00m€12.00m
01/07/201818/19DortmundNewcastle€7.00m€10.00m
30/06/201817/18NewcastleDortmundEnd of loan€10.00m
28/07/201717/18DortmundNewcastleLoan fee:€3.00m€2.50m
01/07/201616/17CA OsasunaDortmund€3.75m€2.00m
01/07/201414/15Osasuna BCA Osasuna--
01/07/201313/14Osasuna U19Osasuna B--
01/07/201212/13CA Osasuna YoutOsasuna U19--

Market value

€25.00m Current€50.00m Highest · 30/12/202103/06/2026 Last change
€50.00m
08.01.201503.06.2026
#22 Arsenal#60 Central Midfield#183 Premier League#37 Spain#398 Worldwide#8 Year 1996
Value history
DateAgeClubValue
08/01/201518CA Osasuna€1.00m
01/07/201519CA Osasuna€1.00m
22/02/201619CA Osasuna€2.00m
22/07/201620Borussia Dortmund€3.00m
07/02/201720Borussia Dortmund€3.00m
19/06/201720Borussia Dortmund€2.50m
23/10/201721Newcastle United€7.00m
02/01/201821Newcastle United€10.00m
28/05/201821Newcastle United€10.00m
12/07/201822Real Sociedad€12.00m
21/12/201822Real Sociedad€8.00m
28/02/201922Real Sociedad€10.00m
11/06/201922Real Sociedad€15.00m
20/12/201923Real Sociedad€20.00m
05/03/202023Real Sociedad€30.00m
08/04/202023Real Sociedad€24.00m
23/07/202024Real Sociedad€35.00m
08/10/202024Real Sociedad€35.00m
05/01/202124Real Sociedad€40.00m
10/06/202124Real Sociedad€40.00m
30/12/202125Real Sociedad€50.00m
03/06/202225Real Sociedad€50.00m
07/11/202226Real Sociedad€50.00m
13/06/202326Real Sociedad€50.00m
22/12/202327Real Sociedad€50.00m
07/06/202427Real Sociedad€50.00m
16/12/202428Arsenal FC€45.00m
18/03/202528Arsenal FC€35.00m
30/05/202528Arsenal FC€35.00m
09/12/202529Arsenal FC€30.00m
03/06/202629Arsenal FC€25.00m
xG Statisticsall seasons
SeasonLeagueClubAppsMinGxGnpxGAxAShKPxGChain
2026EPLArsenal816300.510.5100800.95
2025EPLArsenal22100245.225.2232.2922128.37

What xG, npxG, xA and xGChain mean

xG Expected goals
How many goals an average finisher would score from the same shots. A 0.30 xG shot goes in about 3 times in 10. Goals above xG mean efficient finishing; below — a cold streak or poor finishing.
npxG Non-penalty xG
The same xG without penalties. A penalty alone is worth about 0.76 xG, so npxG is a cleaner view of open-play and set-piece chances.
xA Expected assists
The xG of the shots that followed the player's passes. High xA with few assists means teammates missed good chances.
xGChain xG chain
Team xG from every possession the player touched. It shows involvement in build-up, not only the shot or the final pass, so a deep midfielder can rank high without scoring.
KP Key passes
Passes that led directly to a shot — the volume behind xA.