Arsenal Confirm £27m Arrival Of Spanish Midfielder

Written By Albert Echatah

Mikel Merino, a Spanish midfielder, has officially joined Arsenal from Basque-based club Real Sociedad.

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The Spaniard has signed a four-year contract at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal will pay a £4.2 million add-on to the initial £27.4 million payment.

After David Raya’s permanent acquisition and the arrivals of Tommy Setford and Riccardo Calafiori, Merino becomes Arsenal’s fourth summer acquisition.

Merino featured heavily for La Roja at the 2024 European championship, the 28-year-old scored Spain’s game-winning goal against Germany in the quarterfinal.

Along with his winning mentality, Merino, 28, attracted Arsenal with his rigid style of play, the 28-year-old won more duels than any other player in Europe’s top five divisions in the 2023/24 campaign.

Arteta said: “Mikel is a player who will bring us huge quality with his experience and versatility. He has played at the top of the game at both club and international level for a number of seasons now.

“Mikel will make our squad significantly stronger, with his technical ability, together with his strong and positive character and personality.

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“We are delighted to welcome Mikel and his family to the club and can’t wait to start working with him.”

After moving from Newcastle United to Real Sociedad six years ago, Merino made 242 appearances for the Spanish side and contributed to their 2020 Copa del Rey triumph.

Merino, who also competed for La Roja’s U19 and U21 teams in the 2015 and 2019 European Championships, was only a player for one season at Newcastle under Rafael Benitez, making just 14 Premier League starts.

The 28-year-old, who won the European Championship this summer with Spain, excels in intercepting opposition’s passes. Additionally, he also wins duels, nobody came close to matching his 326 tally last season.

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