{"id":11551,"date":"2024-12-16T15:28:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T15:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551"},"modified":"2024-12-16T15:28:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T15:28:25","slug":"always-a-gooner-mikel-merino-reveals-the-heartwarming-story-behind-childhood-photo-wearing-arsenal-shirt%f0%9f%98%8d%f0%9f%98%8d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Always a Gooner&#8217; &#8211; Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div id=\"primary\"><main id=\"main\"><\/p>\n<article id=\"post-58353\">\n<div>\n<p>A nostalgic photo of Mikel Merino in an Arsenal kit as a young boy has resurfaced, and the midfielder has shared the heartwarming story behind it. Merino, who recently joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad, explained that the photo was taken after his uncles gifted him the kit. \u201cThey told me, \u2018Okay, pose right there like you\u2019re signing for Arsenal, who knows in the future what\u2019s going to happen?&#8217;\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pictures.tribuna.com\/image\/1d15b087-ab3f-43f3-9136-77695f12befd\" alt=\"'Always a Gooner' - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, that childhood dream has become a reality for the 28-year-old midfielder, who has already made 14 appearances for the Gunners, scoring once. His versatility and tactical intelligence have proven to be valuable assets for the team.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2024\/10\/02\/17\/90377375-0-image-m-33_1727885816894.jpg\" alt=\"'Always a Gooner' - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Merino\u2019s journey to Arsenal wasn\u2019t straightforward. He spent six years at Real Sociedad, where he made 242 appearances, scored 27 goals, and provided 30 assists. His successful transition to Arsenal marks a significant milestone in his career, fulfilling a dream he had since childhood.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.arsenalinsider.com\/uploads\/19\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-2168822285-1024x791.jpg\" alt=\"'Always a Gooner' - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeffA nostalgic photo of Mikel Merino in an Arsenal kit as a young boy has resurfaced, and the midfielder has shared the heartwarming story behind it. Merino, who recently joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad, explained that the photo was taken&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Always a Gooner&#039; - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Always a Gooner&#039; - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\ufeffA nostalgic photo of Mikel Merino in an Arsenal kit as a young boy has resurfaced, and the midfielder has shared the heartwarming story behind it. Merino, who recently joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad, explained that the photo was taken...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-16T15:28:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pictures.tribuna.com\/image\/1d15b087-ab3f-43f3-9136-77695f12befd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551\",\"name\":\"'Always a Gooner' - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pictures.tribuna.com\/image\/1d15b087-ab3f-43f3-9136-77695f12befd\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-16T15:28:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-16T15:28:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pictures.tribuna.com\/image\/1d15b087-ab3f-43f3-9136-77695f12befd\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pictures.tribuna.com\/image\/1d15b087-ab3f-43f3-9136-77695f12befd\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8216;Always a Gooner&#8217; &#8211; Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Always a Gooner' - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11551","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Always a Gooner' - Mikel Merino reveals the heartwarming story behind childhood photo wearing Arsenal shirt\ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude0d - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"\ufeffA nostalgic photo of Mikel Merino in an Arsenal kit as a young boy has resurfaced, and the midfielder has shared the heartwarming story behind it. 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