Fabrizio Romano confirms Mikel Merino set to join Arsenal

18 Aug 2024 08:43 BST
3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Mikel Merino is expected to join Arsenal imminently.

Article continues under the video

Romano tweeted after Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Wolves that “Merino is expected to come soon”.

He followed that up with a video in the evening in which he confirmed transfer fee and contract had all been basically agreed, with just final details to be sorted for the transfer to be completed.

This came after Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil confirmed that Merino is close to leaving.

Alguacil left Merino out of his squad for Sunday’s La Liga match against Rayo.

"At the moment, we are where we are and I'm leaving out Merino and Carlos [Fernandez] because both have open conversations with other clubs and we'll see what happens.

"I have to thank both of them, as a person, and also as a club, for everything they have given us. I have classified Mikel as the best player in LaLiga, you can imagine what that means, and if you add Robin [Le Normand], the starting centre-back in the national team that won the Euro Cup, imagine what the team loses."

Arsenal are expected to pay around €30 million for the midfielder.

An agreement is on the verge of being struck with final talks only centring around the payment structure and minor details, according to Romano.

Arsenal made Merino their top target to strengthen their central midfield this summer and have been in talks to sign the star for a number of weeks now.

Personal terms have long been agreed, as exclusively revealed by FootballTransfers,.

Merino’s chances of signing for Arsenal received a boost earlier this week with the news that fellow central midfielder Martin Zubimendi had rejected a move to Liverpool.

Despite Real Sociedad initially expecting Zubimendi to accept Liverpool's approaches, the 25-year-old decided to snub the Anfield club.

Real Sociedad had been desperately trying to convince Zubimendi to remain with his boyhood club and they weresuccessful.

This news meant that Real Sociedad would be much more open to letting Mikel Merino go.

The 28-year-old Merino saw his reputation soar during Spain’s victorious Euro 2024 campaign.

He was not a starter at Euro 2024 but played a crucial role off the bench, scoring a brilliant headed winner in the 119th minute against Germany in the quarter final.

Merino at Real Sociedad

Merino made his name at Osasuna, coming through the youth ranks and emerging as one of Spain’s most promising young central midfielders.

However, transfers to Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United were not a success, leading to him returning to Spain with Real Sociedad in 2018.

It is in the Basque Country that Merino developed into a big star. He has 242 appearances for Real Sociedad, scoring 27 goals and becoming a pillar of the team.

He won the Copa del Rey in 2020 and played a crucial role in Sociedad even playing in the Champions League.

Merino has won 28 caps for Spain, scoring two goals and winning Euro 2024. He also won the Euros with his country at Under-19 and Under-21 level.

Read more about: Premier League, Arsenal