Mikel Merino may have received a World Cup winner’s medal on Sunday, but that didn’t stop Arsenal teammate David Raya making fun of his black eye.
After scoring winning goals in the World Cup round-of-16 and quarter-finals, Mikel Merino made another positive substitute appearance for Spain in their final win over Argentina on Sunday.
The Arsenal midfielder caused plenty of problems for Argentina, and he could even have scored the winner with a header that went narrowly wide with the goalkeeper stranded. At the other end, he blocked a shot from Lionel Messi with his face.
With Spain going on to win 1-0, Merino celebrated with the trophy on the pitch. In the celebrations, his right eye was already beginning to swell up.
By the time Merino returned to the dressing room, he had a full black eye, sharing a picture of himself holding a cold drink to his face for relief.
Arsenal and Spain teammate David Raya showed no mercy, replying to the Instagram post with a picture of a Spongebob Squarepants with a black eye.
Spain will now celebrate their World Cup triumph, before Merino and his Arsenal teammates Raya and Martin Zubimendi finally begin their post-tournament summer holiday.
The trio will get at least three weeks off, and Merino’s swelling should have long gone down by the time Arsenal can call on him again.
In the meantime, he may be best served appearing in Spain’s parade photos with an eye patch!
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