Mikel Merino is getting used to donning a superhero's cape with . He did it first at UEFA EURO 2024 with the goal deep into extra time that took Spain past hosts Germany and into the semi-finals. He has repeated the trick twice now at the , in the process leading La Roja to a first semi-final in 16 years with his goals against Portugal and Belgium. And each time he has celebrated in the same way by circling the corner flag.
The Arsenal midfielder’s celebration is a homage to his father, Miguel Merino. A midfielder like his son, he played more than 450 matches for a string of Spanish clubs, Osasuna, Celta, Las Palmas, Leganes and Burgos. More pertinently, in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup he scored a goal for Osasuna in Stuttgart and celebrated in just the same way.
Merino, born in 1996, first became aware of the celebration in his early teens. In a recent appearance in Spanish broadcaster RTVE’s ‘Denomination of Origin’ series, he explained: “I’d have been around 12, 13, 14 and we were clearing out some old videos. My dad was watching his matches, his highlights and he showed me his goals and that one was among them.”
As a consequence, when Merino himself played in Stuttgart, at EURO 2024, and headed Spain’s winning goal in the 119th minute, there was only one way he was going to celebrate. “It was a show of respect towards him and all the family, a way of giving back a little of all that they’ve given me,” Merino said. His father, in that same programme, reflected: “It’s very moving that he remembered that celebration.”
To give another detail about Merino’s background, he once told La Vanguardia that when he was little his mother did not want footballs in the house so as to allow young Mikel to choose freely which sport he liked, with no pressure to follow his father.
“I didn’t have my first ball till my mum saw me taking one from the boys in the street,” said Merino, now 30. “To avoid any problems, she decided to buy me one.” The balls she bought were made of sponge so nothing would be broken in the house. Sometimes he would go out into the garden with his father; Merino Sr would provide the crosses and Mikel the headers, like on that day in Stuttgart in 2024.
“That goal was ticking a box on one of those dreams you have as a boy,” said Merino in the aforementioned RTVE interview. “It’s writing your name in history and it gives you confidence when you look forward, knowing that if you’ve done it once, you can do it many times.” And so it has proved. In the Round of 16 against Portugal, he entered the action after 85 minutes and scored the winning goal in the 91st. In the quarter-final against Portugal he arrived in the 86th minute and drove in the winner two minutes later. Cue, each time, a dash to the corner flag and that now familiar celebration.
Merino has thrived in front of goal since Mikel Arteta, his manager at Arsenal, began using him as a centre-forward. In 2025 alone he hit eight goals for Spain, six of them in qualifying for this World Cup. And while – leaving Merino absent from Arsenal’s team between 25 January and 24 May – thankfully, he recovered in time to take his place with Spain.
“A sure bet” is how De la Fuente described this son of Pamplona after the Portugal match. “He’s always there in the important moments," said the coach. "He’s a massive footballer, among the best in the world in his position. It’s a luxury to have him.”
As for Merino himself, he was struggling for words after his winner against Belgium. “Madness” and “surreal” were two words he was able to summon, before he added: “It’s spectacular to be able to experience these past days. It’s a source of pride and a real joy for me, and I can't wait for the next match."
Sources: FIFA Official
