According to Fichajes, coach Mikel Arteta wants to upgrade the quality of the midfield in the upcoming January transfer window.
Mikel Merino is a product of the Osasuna youth academy. He left Spain in 2016 and played for Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United before returning to his homeland to join Real Sociedad in 2018.
Since then, the 27-year-old has developed a solid career and become one of the best midfielders in La Liga.
To date, Merino has made more than 200 appearances for Sociedad, scoring 20 goals and 27 assists. His classy performance is currently attracting interest from many big clubs, including Arsenal.
In a context where Thomas Partey is often injured and Jorginho is getting older, coach Mikel Arteta needs to find a way to strengthen the midfield alongside Declan Rice. For that reason, he targeted Merino.
However, the fee in this deal is not cheap. According to sources from Fichajes, Sociedad only agreed to release this player if the contract release clause worth 60 million euros was activated.
According to Metro, Arsenal sent scouts to monitor left-back Miguel Gutierrez. The 22-year-old star had a convincing performance in the Girona shirt. This season, Girona caused a big surprise when they took the top spot in La Liga, 2 points ahead of Real Madrid.
Miguel is a familiar face to many Los Blancos fans. The Spanish player went through the youth levels of Real Madrid. Miguel made 10 appearances for Real Madrid’s first team but could not compete for a regular starting position.
In 2022, Miguel moved to Girona. Since then, the 22-year-old defender has achieved a major breakthrough in his career. In total, Miguel made 46 appearances for Girona. The current contract between the Spain U21 international and Girona will expire in 2027.
Arsenal is one of the teams hoping to get Miguel’s signature. The Gunners have been linked with the 22-year-old defender in 2021 when he makes his Real Madrid first-team debut.
At that time, Los Blancos decided to keep Miguel. In that context, Arsenal turned to another option when recruiting Oleksandr Zinchenko from Man City.
