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Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has revealed how a simple last-minute seat change on the Borussia Dortmund team bus probably saved his life during a terrifying bomb attack in Germany in 2017.
Merino, then just 20 years old, was traveling with his Dortmund teammates to the stadium for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Monaco when three explosives packed with metal pins detonated as the bus passed through a hedge.
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A large piece of shrapnel was deeply embedded in the headrest of the seat that would normally have been occupied by the Spanish midfielder. However, because his legs felt tight, he had moved to a seat further forward.
“The front seats were reclining, so I sat there and maybe that saved my life,” Merino recalled in an interview with The players’ tribune. “I think I have an angel on my shoulder. I’m actually lucky to be alive.”
Recalling the harrowing moments immediately after the explosion, Merino described a scene of overwhelming chaos, deafening noise and thick smoke that caused the vehicle to nearly overturn.
He described seeing blood on the ground and hearing the screams of his terrified teammates before heading to the hospital to support his teammate Marc Bartra, who underwent surgery for a broken wrist.
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While doctors predicted a six-month recovery period for an injury that occurred just four months before the World Cup, the emotional reality hit him hardest when he shared the news with his wife, Lola.
“The doctor said, ‘six months.’ I was too shocked to feel sad. I just did the math in my head. The World Cup was four months away,” Merino said. “When I told my wife, Lola, that’s when I broke down. My brain already understood it, but my heart needed me to say it out loud… I have to play. I will be in the World Cup, no matter what happens.”
