A Twist of Fate Saved His Life: Arsenal's World Cup Winner Believes He Has a Guardian Angel

The Spaniard was only 20 years old when the German giants' team bus was targeted in a bomb attack in 2017, while en route to a Champions League quarter-final home clash against Monaco.

Three explosive devices concealed in a hedge went off just as the bus drove past. A large piece of shrapnel ended up lodged in the headrest of the seat Merino usually sat in. However, feeling his legs were stiff, he had chosen to switch seats that evening.

"The seats at the front could recline, so I sat there—and that might have saved my life," the Premier League winner and world champion told The Players' Tribune.

"I think I have a guardian angel. Honestly, I'm lucky to be alive. Many people might not believe something like that happened or realize how serious it was, but it marked all of us. There was a deafening bang, and then I remember the bus nearly flipping over," he revealed.

Merino saw blood on the floor, smelled smoke, and heard screaming. He later went to the hospital to wait on his teammate Marc Bartra, who had to undergo surgery for a fractured wrist.

The Monaco match was rescheduled for the following day, a decision heavily criticised by then-Dortmund boss—and current England manager—Thomas Tuchel. Sergej Wenergold, a German-Russian national, was convicted in 2018 after confessing to the attack.

Merino also reflected on his remarkable comeback from a stress fracture in his right foot suffered in February 2026. Just five months later, he was lifting the World Cup trophy with Spain.

"The doctor said it would be six months. I was in such shock that I couldn't even feel sad. I just did the math in my head—there were four months left until the World Cup. When I told my wife, that was when I broke down. My head already knew it, but my heart needed to hear it out loud," the 30-year-old Pamplona native recalled.

The shift in mindset he embraced following the Dortmund incident helped him navigate the injury. Having missed out on the 2022 World Cup squad, he was determined not to experience that heartbreak again. He watched his Arsenal teammates seal their first Premier League title in 22 years and celebrated with them, yet his thoughts remained fixed on earning his spot in the national team.

"Four months without a single minute on the pitch. How do you call up a player like that? I spent the whole week going back and forth with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and the physios. The original plan was to return for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, and even that was a risk. I had to prove I was ready in the game against Crystal Palace," Merino added regarding his selection by Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente.