Mikel Merino stepped off the Spain team bus at the Melanie Lane training ground and admitted something he rarely says out loud: for a stretch earlier this year, he thought his World Cup was over before it started.

World Cup final: Spain were left raging after Nico Williams' goal in the World Cup final against Argentina was ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up. The controversial decision sparked a social media storm,

I think he is a complete player,” said Spain's coach of Mikel Merino after he scored the winning goal against Belgium

Mikel Merino has been integral to Spain at the World Cup this summer. In that same time, he's nailed home a point about his future Arsenal position.

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino once again outshone Spain's bigger names including Lamine Yamal on Friday as they beat Belgium 2-1 to progress to the World Cup semi-final. The 30-year-old capitalised on Senne Lammens' mistake to score the winner and set up a meeting with France next week,

Ahead of the 2026 World Cup final, Spain's Mikel Merino shared his disbelief over a 2007 photo of Lionel Messi with an infant Lamine Yamal, admitting he initially thought it was AI-generated. The iconic image has captivated the football world as the two stars prepare to face off for the first time on the biggest stage.

Mikel Merino has become arguably one of the most effective players in world football, making an impact almost every time he steps onto the pitch for Spain despite playing relatively few minutes during their matches.

Nine minutes. That is all Mikel Merino has needed across two World Cup knockout matches to send Spain through to the semi-finals. He waited on the bench for 85 minutes against Portugal before scoring the winner,