Mikel Merino: Real Sociedad play HARDBALL with Arsenal

Carlo Garganese

• 20 Aug 2024 12:30 BST
• 4 min read

Mikel Merino’s transfer to Arsenal is not a foregone conclusion as Real Sociedad continue to play hardball on the midfielder’s price.

According to the Daily Mirror, Real Sociedad will not accept a penny less than their valuation of Merino in order to sell the player to Arsenal.

It was believed that Merino’s move to Arsenal would have been made official by now.

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

And Fabrizio Romano then reported on Saturday 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.

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But it appears that a transfer fee hasn’t been completely agreed yet between the clubs.

This was confirmed by Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay on Monday.

What did Aperribay say?

“Mikel already told us that he feels very much like a Real fan, but that if a Premier League team came, he wanted to fulfil his dream. Merino was clear that he didn't want to say he was renewing and then leave," Aperribay said.

“Unfortunately, one of the teams we didn't want to show up showed up. When I was in Japan, Olabe (Sporting Director) told me that Arsenal had called. I wish it had been earlier or that they hadn’t called at all.

“We will talk to Arsenal and defend the interests of Real Sociedad. When we consider that the offer is good, we will say yes. We know what Merino's wishes are, so we decided not to call him up."

Despite the discussions over the fee, Merino is still expected to join Arsenal.

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.