Fran Mérida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fran Mérida | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Mérida Pérez | |
| Date of birth | March 4, 1990 | |
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |
| Playing position | Central Midfielder, Left Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Arsenal | |
| Number | 43 | |
| Youth career | ||
| 1998–2005 2005–2007 |
FC Barcelona Arsenal |
|
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2007– 2008 |
Arsenal → Real Sociedad (loan) |
2 (0) 14 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2006–2007 2007–2009 2009 2008– |
Spain U17 Spain U19 Spain U20 Spain U21 |
17 (5) 15 (7) 2 (0) 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Francisco Mérida Pérez (born 4 March 1990 in Barcelona, Catalonia) is a Spanish football midfielder who currently plays for Arsenal of the English Premier League.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Barcelona
Mérida joined the youth ranks of FC Barcelona at the age of eight[1] but left the club in September 2005 and was reportedly hidden away by his agent, Joseba Díaz leading to speculation that he would leave for England with no compensation for the Spanish club as was the case when Cesc Fàbregas joined Arsenal from Barcelona. Fran Merida's parents had become uneasy about all the young players joining Barcelona and felt that youngster would have a better chance elsewhere. Therefore, they approached Díaz, also Cesc Fabregas' agent, and he promptly alerted Real Madrid, A.C. Milan, and Arsenal. Barcelona's fears were realized when Mérida joined Arsenal without compensation, as he had not signed a contract with Barcelona.
[edit] Contract controversy
On October 9, 2007, Mérida was ordered by the courts to pay a fee around €3.2million -- which is being appealed -- to FC Barcelona as compensation for his "failing to meet the terms of a personal pre-contract" with Barcelona.[2] The decision could have serious implications for clubs in England, where players can sign professional contracts at 17, one year earlier than in Spain. In response, a Madrid-based lawyer, Rodrigo García, was quoted as saying, "English teams will now think again before signing a young Spanish player...It's an important ruling."[3]
[edit] Arsenal
He signed professional terms with Arsenal after his 17th birthday.[4] He scored on his first team debut for Arsenal in a friendly against Boreham Wood in August 2006.[5] His competitive first-team debut came on 25 September 2007, when he came on as a 91st minute substitute in Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the League Cup third round,[6] and he made further substitute's appearances in a 3–0 win against Sheffield United in the fourth round, and a 3–2 win against Blackburn Rovers in the quarter-finals. On April 3 2008, Mérida extended his deal with Arsenal by signing a long-term (unspecified) contract, securing his future with Arsenal. He is expected to play an important role from next season as manager Arsène Wenger described him as "an absolutely amazing player".[7] He made his first start for Arsenal in a 6–0 win over Sheffield United in the League Cup on September 23, 2008. He started on the left wing for the League Cup home tie again Wigan in November 2008 in which Arsenal won the game 3–0, with Merida playing the whole match. On March 2 2009, Arsene Wenger heaped praise on Fran, claiming the reason for him making the bench for the previous few first team games is because "He has been doing very, very well. He looks really good in training and is getting stronger all the time." Mérida spend the best part of February training with the first team and looks set to finish the season on the fringes of the squad. Just 3 days later, Mérida made his Premier League debut, coming off the bench for Samir Nasri with just 8 minutes to go in the 3–1 win at West Brom, hours before his 19th birthday. Mérida also finished the season by coming off the bench against Portsmouth.
[edit] Loan to Real Sociedad
On December 27, 2007, Iñaki Badiola, then-prospective presidential candidate of the Spanish club Real Sociedad, claimed he agreed a loan deal with Arsenal for Mérida till the end of the Segunda División season. Badiola became Real Sociedad president on January 4 and Merida's loan to Real Sociedad was confirmed five days later.[8] He made 14 appearances during the loan.
[edit] International career
Mérida was one of the star members of the Spanish U-17 squad, that won the 2007 UEFA U-17 Championships.[1] In July 2007, he also starred for the Spain U-17 squad in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea but, they finished runners up, [5] losing to a dominant Nigeria in a penalty shootout, with Mérida missing the second penalty of the three taken.
[edit] Arsenal career statistics
- (correct as of 24 Maye 2009)
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Carling Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Arsenal | 2007–08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Real Sociedad (loan) | 2007–08 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 6 |
| Arsenal | 2008–09 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Saffer, Paul (2007-05-02). "Mérida to make Spain proud". UEFA. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under17/news/kind=1/newsid=533576.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
- ^ "Barca wins lawsuit against Arsenal's Merida". Fox Sports. 2005-10-17. http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/7270520.
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/10/11/sfnbar111.xml Fran Merida hit for £2m by Barcelona
- ^ "Fran Merida signs professional terms". arsenal.com. 2007-03-08. http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=reserves+and+youth&article=452971&lid=&Title=Fran+Merida+signs+professional+terms. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
- ^ a b Harris, Chris (2006-08-07). "Banfield - We have high hopes for Merida". arsenal.com. http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=reserves+and+youth&article=408364&lid=&Title=Banfield+-+We+have+high+hopes+for+Merida%20Banfield. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
- ^ Sky Sports - Match facts (Arsenal v. Newcastle)
- ^ "Wenger delight at Merida deal". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3380752,00.html.
- ^ "Mérida: "Aportaré mi granito de arena para intentar ascender"" (in Spanish). RealSociedad.com. http://www.realsociedad.com/caste/home/real.asp?menu=110100&id=82366.
[edit] External links
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