Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has spoken candidly about the night a split-second decision spared him from serious injury — or worse — during a bomb attack on Borussia Dortmund's team bus in April 2017.

Merino, then 20 years old, was aboard the bus with his Dortmund teammates as they made their way to the stadium for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Monaco. Three explosives, packed with metal pins, detonated as the bus rolled past a roadside hedge, causing catastrophic damage to the vehicle.

A changed seat, a different fate

By pure chance, Merino had swapped his usual seat for one further forward in the bus, citing tightness in his legs. A large shard of shrapnel buried itself deep into the headrest of the seat he would ordinarily have occupied — the implications are difficult to overstate.