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Sunday, August 30, 2009

FRAN MERIDA

I'm quite interested to talk about this young Gunners' player. Maybe some of you didn't know this player as he plays in Arsenal reserves team. He was born in Barcelona on 4th march 1990, and many people said that it is a big loss to Barcelona after he joined Arsenal.

Mérida joined the youth ranks of
FC Barcelona at the age of eight but left the club in September 2005 and was reportedly hidden away by his agent, Joseba Díaz leading to speculation that he would leave for England with no compensation for the Spanish club as was the case when Cesc Fàbregas joined Arsenal from Barcelona. Fran Merida's parents had become uneasy about all the young players joining Barcelona and felt that youngster would have a better chance elsewhere. Therefore, they approached Díaz, also Cesc Fabregas' agent, and he promptly alerted Real Madrid, A.C. Milan, and Arsenal. Barcelona's fears were realized when Mérida joined Arsenal without compensation, as he had not signed a contract with Barcelona.

He signed professional terms with Arsenal after his 17th birthday. He scored on his first team debut for Arsenal in a friendly against Boreham Wood in August 2006. His competitive first-team debut came on 25 September 2007, when he came on as a 91st minute substitute in Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the League Cup third round, and he made further substitute's appearances in a 3–0 win against Sheffield United in the fourth round, and a 3–2 win against Blackburn Rovers in the quarter-finals. On April 3 2008, Mérida extended his deal with Arsenal by signing a long-term (unspecified) contract, securing his future with Arsenal. He is expected to play an important role from next season as manager Arsène Wenger described him as "an absolutely amazing player". He made his first start for Arsenal in a 6–0 win over Sheffield United in the League Cup on September 23, 2008. He started on the left wing for the League Cup home tie again Wigan in November 2008 in which Arsenal won the game 3–0, with Merida playing the whole match. On March 2 2009, Arsene Wenger heaped praise on Fran, claiming the reason for him making the bench for the previous few first team games is because "He has been doing very, very well. He looks really good in training and is getting stronger all the time." Mérida spend the best part of February training with the first team and looks set to finish the season on the fringes of the squad. Just 3 days later, Mérida made his Premier League debut, coming off the bench for Samir Nasri with just 8 minutes to go in the 3–1 win at West Brom, hours before his 19th birthday. Mérida also finished the season by coming off the bench against Portsmouth.

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