Mikel Merino and Declan Rice applaud the Arsenal fans (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has praised the “finishers” in Mikel Arteta’s squad that can come on and make an impact off the bench. However, the Spain international has also admitted that one issue with having such a big squad is that no one really wants to spend a lot of time on the bench. "I'm not going to lie…" – Mikel Merino speaks out on having so much competition in this Arsenal squad now…? “I do think he is an underrated player and he gets a lot of unfair criticism. Playing Merino with Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi did feel like the conservative option in terms of creativity from midfield, but there is no doubt he offers a serious goal threat.