Merson started his career at Arsenal, joining the club as an apprentice in 1984. Merson brought flair and imagination to the Arsenal side, often producing the spectacular and unexpected. He played a key role as the Club won their first League title in 18 years. He also won the PFA Young Player of the Year award. As time went Merson found himself in a deeper lying role where Merson could dictate the pace of an attack, combining raking diagonal passes with sharp exchanges and incisive runs. At the end of the 1996–97 Premiership campaign, Merson was sold to Middlesbrough in a £4.5million deal.