Mikel Arteta says one of the most intelligent players he's ever seen plays for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta was a happy man after Arsenal beat Ipswich Town 4-2 in the Carabao Cup.

Going away from home for a cup game is always tricky, especially when you are facing an opponent you should realistically beat.

However, Arsenal did what they had to do without too much trouble and have gone through to the next round of the competition.

Several players impressed against Ipswich, but Mikel Arteta seemed particularly impressed by one of them.

Mikel Arteta raves about Mikel Merino after Arsenal beat Ipswich Town

Mikel Merino missed most of the second half of last season due to injury.

The Spaniard is by no means a regular starter for Arsenal, but his unique profile makes him a very reliable player to turn to whenever required.

On Tuesday night, Merino started in midfield alongside Bruno Guimaraes, and the former Real Sociedad man had a decent game.

Merino controlled the tempo, knew when to slow it down, won a few fouls, and most importantly, he scored a lovely goal.

Arteta was beyond impressed by Merino and hailed him as one of the smartest players he has ever come across in his career.

He said, as per Arsenal.com: “He’s unbelievable. First of all, he’s one of the most intelligent players that I’ve seen and I’ve worked with. Then the personality is just full of… I don’t know, he just wants to give for everybody. He thinks about everything; he thinks about everybody.

“And on top of that, he has qualities that are unique in football and in our team, his capacity to arrive in the box, he’s capable of occupying different places, to play in different positions, to link play with people.

“And as a midfielder, the ability that he has to score goals like tonight is a different one that we’ve seen lately, but another incredible one.”

Mikel Merino must have received a promotion in Arsenal’s leadership group

Merino has been a part of Arsenal’s leadership group for a while now.

The Spaniard is one of the most experienced players in the squad, and he is highly respected by everyone in the squad.

This season, it’s no surprise that Merino is part of that group again, but what did raise a few eyebrows is that he seems to have leapfrogged one of his teammates in the order.

Gabriel Magalhaes used to be ahead of Merino in the leadership group, but against Ipswich, when both players started, it was the Spaniard who wore the armband.

That suggests Merino has been promoted in the leadership group pecking order.