Arsenal agrees $42.8m deal for Mikel Merino: what does Real Sociedad star bring to Gunners?

Arsenal and Real Sociedad are finalizing an agreement for the permanent transfer of Mikel Merino in a deal worth up to $42.8 million, according to CBS Sports sources. The Spanish midfielder is expected to travel to London soon once the formalities of the club-to-club deal have been completed. Once there, he will complete his medical at the Gunners’ London Colney training base before penning a four-year contract with an option for a further 12 months.

Talks between Arsenal and La Real gained momentum last week, with the latter accepting that Merino would not sign the extension. They hoped to reach an agreement on a contract that would expire at the end of the season. The central midfielder was left out of the squad for the season opener against Rayo Vallecano last week, with coach Imanol Alguacil acknowledging the impending departure of a player he called ‘the best midfielder in La Liga’.

CBS Sports first reported Arsenal’s interest in Merino in July. The 28-year-old European champion responded to the Gunners’ desire to expand Mikel Arteta’s squad with entry-level talent. The former Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund man could be just that – a player who has logged more than 2,000 La Liga minutes in each of the last six seasons for a side that consistently ranks among Spain’s top six. His form at club level was rewarded with 28 caps for Spain, for whom he was the winner against Germany in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

That air power is one of the striking properties of Merino. In the past three full seasons in La Liga, only two players – strikers Joselu and Vedat Muriqi – have won more aerial duels than the 6-foot-4 midfielder from Pamplona. If, as expected, Merino sees the majority of his minutes as the ‘left eight’ in Arsenal’s midfield, he will see plenty of opportunities to deploy those qualities in the opposition’s penalty areas, making the kind of late runs of deep into the penalty area. Kai Havertz was signed to perform before proving he was more adept at striker.

At Real Sociedad, Merino has for the most part not been tasked with playing with great attacking prowess, averaging 1.34 shots per 90 over the past three seasons, and his passing numbers haven’t particularly stood out either. However, the Spain international has generally been deployed in much the same role he should have for Arsenal. He profiles himself as the player who sits between the deeper conductor and a more orthodox playmaker, Martin Zubimendi and Brais Mendez for La Real, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard for Arsenal.

That means filling in on the edges, keeping the ball moving, winning it back and contributing in useful areas. His average of 4.49 ball recoveries in the third midfield is only bettered by Sergio Busquets and Geoffrey Kondogbia. His shot count may be quite low, but Merino does get touches in the penalty area and last season only Mendez and Takefusa Kubo were involved in more La Real possession streaks that ended in shots. Merinos have a remarkable set of skills, but a player who can often receive the ball in the penalty area, win it back in defense without carrying a huge burden of possession is what Arteta has spent much of the last two seasons trying to get from Granit Xhaka and Havertz. Last season no one seemed to be better at that than Merino.

Given the success Odegaard has enjoyed during his time with the Gunners, it was no surprise to see Arsenal return to their source in San Sebastian this season. Their scouts were regularly at the Anoeta Stadium, monitoring the progress of Zubimendi, Ander Barrenetxea, Merino and their own loanee Kieran Tierney.

It is believed that Arsenal’s interest in Merino dates back to a series of impressive performances in Real’s top run through Champions League Group D. By the time he left for Euro 2024, Arsenal’s interest was well established and known to Merino, although not was the case. formalized until the former Newcastle man returned from a post-tournament holiday. Given that Arsenal were not exactly short of midfield options at the start of the season, there was no rush to force a deal through. However, La Real ultimately received a premium price for a veteran in the final twelve months of his contract, with $37.2 million of the fee guaranteed.

For that amount, Arsenal will at least deepen their options in midfield. It could well be that Merino will soon be the established left eight with Rice returning to the base of midfield where he started his time at the club. That can cause difficulties. Rice’s ball possession qualities are occasionally underestimated, but he is not as progressive a passer as Jorginho or Thomas Partey. Playing Oleksandr Zinchenko at left back could alleviate some of that, but Arsenal’s summer spending of more than $130 million also includes the addition of Riccardo Calafiori, who will compete for minutes with the Ukrainian, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu on the left flank.

However, those are luxury problems for Arteta, more than offset by the potential benefits of their new midfielders. Imagine, for example, an opposition breaking through the combative first line of the Arsenal press, led by the slender Havertz and the precise Odegaard. Their reward for this would be to clash against Rice and Merino, two six-foot-tall dynamos who dominate their matches year in and year out. On a good day for the Gunners, the other would do well to even take a look at William Saliba.

Aggression and dominance have been the key words during Arteta’s tenure, so much so that they were on the Emirates Stadium scoreboard before matches last season. Merino will only help his new manager put those words into action.