Wenger - Merida’s loan will mind the gap



Arsène Wenger sent Fran Merida on loan to Real Sociedad in order to fill a gap in his education.

The 17-year-old midfielder joined the Spanish Segunda Division club last week and will stay until the end of the current campaign.

“He is a great player,” Wenger told Arsenal.com. “He has a good opportunity to play there and he should be at Sociedad for six months.”

The Basque side, who have just parted company with former Fulham manager Chris Coleman, are well-placed for a promotion push later this season. That’s why Wenger believes the experience will solve the perennial problem of providing competitive football for those players between second and first-team football.

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“At the moment we play the young players so quickly in the Reserve team — at 16 or 17 — that at 18 and 19 there is sometimes no challenge for them anymore,” said the Frenchman. “But it is still a little bit too early for them to play in the first team at Arsenal. So there is a little gap period for them.

“We always think about how we can use this period for the benefit for the boy and the Club. One of the solutions is to get them into clubs where they can get first-team experience.”