Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has said a last-minute change of seats on the team coach may have saved his life while he was at Borussia Dortmund. The Spaniard was 20 years old when Dortmund's bus was hit by explosives on its way to the home leg of their Champions League semi-final against Monaco in 2017. Three bombs filled with metal pins and hidden in a hedge exploded as the bus passed. A huge piece of shrapnel ended up lodged in the headrest of the seat Merino usually occupied, but he had opted to sit elsewhere because his "legs were feeling a bit tight."
"The seats in the front reclined so I sat up there instead, and it may have saved my life," said the Premier League and World Cup winner in an interview with The Players' Tribune. "I think I have an angel on my shoulder. I'm actually fortunate to be alive at all." Merino recalls seeing blood on the floor, the smell of smoke and the sound of screams. The match was postponed until the following day, which was criticised by Dortmund's manager, current England boss Thomas Tuchel. Sergei Wenergold was sent to prison in 2018 after he admitted to the attack.
Merino's interview also detailed his remarkable comeback from a stress fracture in his right foot in February to lifting the World Cup with Spain five months later. "The doctor said, 'six months,'" he said. "I was too shocked to even feel sad. When I told my wife, Lola, that's when I broke down." He said he later used his near escape to spur him on because "things happen for a reason."
Having missed the 2022 World Cup squad, Merino was determined not to miss out again. "I have to play. I will be at the World Cup, no matter what," he said. Arsenal's final game of the season at Crystal Palace on 24 May gave him his chance. After arguing with manager Mikel Arteta and the physios, he was given half an hour against Palace. "That day, I was playing for the World Cup, 100%," he said. Spain boss Luis de la Fuente named the squad the following day, and Merino was in it.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing