Mikel Merino recalls Dortmund bus attack: 'Fortunate to be alive'

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has described the 2017 bomb attack on Borussia Dortmund's team bus in an interview with The Players' Tribune. As reported by BBC Sport, the Spain international had moved away from his usual seat that day, and a large piece of shrapnel ended up embedded in the headrest where he would normally have been sitting. Merino believes the decision may have saved his life.

Merino was 20 at the time of the attack. The images that stayed with him are blood on the ground, smoke filling the air and people screaming. Now a Premier League and World Cup winner, he told the interviewer he believes things happen for a reason, according to Mundo Deportivo.

What happened to the Dortmund team bus?

Borussia Dortmund's bus was attacked on 11 April 2017 as the squad travelled to their home Champions League tie against Monaco. According to the BBC and Sporx, three bombs packed with metal pins had been hidden in a hedge and went off as the coach drove past. Several reports describe the game as a semi-final, but Dortmund and Monaco actually met in the quarter-finals that season, and the attack came before the first leg.

Dortmund defender Marc Bartra was injured and needed surgery on a broken wrist, and Merino later waited at the hospital while his team-mate was treated. The match was pushed back by a day, a decision criticised at the time by Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel, now in charge of England. The BBC reports that a German man of Russian origin admitted carrying out the attack and was jailed in 2018.

What did Mikel Merino say?

Merino explained that tightness in his legs made him look for somewhere more comfortable, and the reclining seats near the front of the bus seemed the better choice.

Who is Mikel Merino?

Mikel Merino is a midfielder from Navarre, born on 22 June 1996. He was a Borussia Dortmund player when the attack happened and joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad in 2024. According to ScoreLab data, he has made 430 appearances and scored 52 goals across 5 clubs, and has 15 goals in 55 games for Spain. His honours include the World Cup, the EURO, the Premier League, the Copa del Rey and the DFB-Pokal.

In comments reported by the Evening Standard, Merino also looked back on Arsenal's title-winning season. He said a players-only dressing-room meeting after February's draw with Wolves, when Arsenal surrendered a 2-0 lead, was the day the title was won. He was sidelined through that spell by a serious foot injury and said that in the early months of 2026 he worried his playing days could be finished.

Merino is back in form on the pitch. ScoreLab data shows he scored twice and was named player of the match away to Croatia in the Nations League on 6 October 2026, then played 65 minutes in Arsenal's 3-0 Champions League win over Lille on 13 October 2026.