Mikel Merino Leads Arsenal as Captain in Carabao Cup

Mikel Merino walked out at Portman Road with the armband on and a grin he could barely hide. Captain of Arsenal again. Carabao Cup or not, it mattered to him.

Handed the matchday captaincy by Mikel Arteta for the second time, the 30-year-old midfielder did not try to play it down.

“It is a huge honour to represent the club in this way,” he said, fully aware of the company he keeps when he pulls that band over his sleeve. “Many legends have done it before me. I know it is just a Carabao Cup game, but to me it is happiness.”

Merino had already tasted the role once before, in last season’s Carabao Cup last-16 win over Brighton. This time he added a goal of his own, striking in the 58th minute to underline his influence in the tie against Ipswich Town.

The armband clearly sits comfortably. So does the responsibility.

“I try to do the best I can to represent this club and I know how big it is to wear the armband, so I’m really happy,” he said.

Yet even on a night when he scored and captained Arsenal, Merino’s focus drifted quickly to someone far younger, and far earlier in his journey. Sixteen-year-old Max Dowman stepped into the spotlight and wrote his own line of history, becoming the Gunners’ second youngest goalscorer in the competition.

Merino’s reaction was instant admiration.

“He is honestly an unbelievable talent,” the Spaniard said. “He is so young and so alive. You can see the joy in his eyes when he plays football.”

That joy, though, comes with a reminder. Arsenal’s captain-for-the-night knows what comes next for a teenager suddenly thrust into the glare.

“Obviously there are things to improve as he is very young,” Merino added. “He needs to keep listening and learning from us veterans. We are here to support him and we are going to get him to the best version of himself, for sure.”

On a cup night in Suffolk, Arsenal’s present wore the armband. Their future found the net.