Mikel Merino, a midfielder from Spain, has joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad for a possible £31.6 million transfer. After agreeing to pay an initial £27.4 million plus £4.2 million in add-ons, the Gunners signed a four-year contract with the option to extend for an additional year. The 28-year-old will now reside in north London. Merino had a significant role in the Spanish team that won Euro 2024. He appeared in all seven games and scored the game-winning goal in extra time against Germany in the quarterfinal.
After defender Riccardo Calafiori of Italy and goalkeeper David Raya of Spain arrived during the transfer window, he becomes Arsenal’s third acquisition of the window. The club has activated his option to purchase him from Brentford after he was loaned there a year ago.
Merino, who can play as a deeper-lying midfielder, is expected to support Declan Rice, who occasionally filled a “box-to-box” role during the previous year. Additionally, he gives Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger an additional midfield option to rival Rice, Jorginho, Thomas Partey, and Martin Odegaard.
Merino has played in the Premier League before. He moved to Real Sociedad in 2018 after spending a year at Newcastle. In 2019–20, he was a teammate of Odegaard, who was on loan from Real Madrid. With 28 caps for his country, the new addition played 45 club games across all competitions last season and netted 8 goals.
SOURCE: https://dew360.net
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