Spanish midfielder leaves Real Sociedad and joins Arsenal

Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino has joined Premier League side Arsenal on a £31.6m deal after completing a move on Tuesday from Spanish La Liga club Real Sociedad. The 28-year-old has penned a four-year contract with the Gunners with an option to extend for a further year.

Merino, who has 28 caps for Spain, played all their matches at Euro 2024 in Germany in the summer as they went on to beat England to the title; he becomes Arsenal’s third summer signing after David Raya’s loan stint was made a permanent and Italian defender Ricardo Calafiori joined the club.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Merino will bring quality, experience, and versatility to the North Londoners as he can complement Jorginho, Thomas Partey, and Declan Rice.

“Mikel will make our squad significantly stronger with his technical ability, together with his strong and positive character and personality. As we all saw in the summer, Mikel is also a winner, with his strong performances throughout the Euros helping Spain win the tournament,” said Arteta.

Merino played 45 club games last season for Real Sociedad in all competitions, with eight goals to show for it. Luckily for Arsenal, he played previously in the Premier League after being featured for Newcastle for a year before his move to La Liga side Real Sociedad in 2018.

At Sociedad, he played with Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard when the former Real Madrid star was on loan in the 2019/2020 season.

Meanwhile, Wolves’ move for Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has collapsed as they put their focus on Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone, who is valued at around £10m. 26-year-old Ramsdale has proven too expensive for the Molineux side and have now closed down any possible move.

Arsenal would face Brighton on Saturday in an early Saturday Premier League kickoff. The Gunners secured a 2-0 victory against Aston Villa last weekend.