Arsenal Edge Closer to Major Signing No. 3 as Personal Terms Reached

Arsenal Close to Signing Mikel Merino

Arsenal are ‘very, very close’ to securing their third major signing of the summer after pushing Barcelona aside.

The Gunners have agreed personal terms with Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino and have made a verbal bid for the Spanish midfielder.

Arsenal have already wrapped up two major acquisitions this window. David Raya was the first to arrive, following a solid loan spell last season.

The Spain international goalkeeper joined upon activation of Arsenal’s £27 million option to buy.

Three weeks later, Riccardo Calafiori followed through the front door at the Emirates.

Calafiori, 22, was signed from Bologna for around £42 million. He will bolster what was already the Premier League’s meanest defense.

Primarily playing at left-back, Calafiori will also provide more adequate cover at left centre-back for Gabriel Magalhaes than Jakub Kiwior has in recent times.

Smith Rowe’s Departure From Arsenal Paves Way for Merino

The summer spending won’t stop there, however, with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirming Arsenal hoped to sign Mikel Merino as soon as Emile Smith Rowe left for Fulham.

Smith Rowe completed his £27 million plus £7 million in add-ons switch to the Cottagers on Friday.

As a homegrown player, the proceeds from that sale represent pure profit on Arsenal’s books. A sell-on clause was also included.

All eyes are now on Merino, with Arsenal having already agreed personal terms on a four-year contract with the Real Sociedad and Spain ace.

At 28, Merino is older than most players Mikel Arteta and Edu have signed of late.

The flip side is that he’s ready to make an instant impact, and Arsenal only need minor tweaks to overcome Manchester City if last season is anything to go by.

Barcelona had also shown interest in Merino, who has racked up 28 caps for Spain since debuting in 2020.

The appeal of joining one of Spain’s big two clubs could have posed a problem for Arsenal given Merino is Spanish.

Arsenal Swat Barcelona Aside

However, according to a fresh update from Mundo Deportivo, Arsenal fans need not worry.

They state Merino ‘seems to have opted’ for Arsenal, much to Barcelona’s dismay, who have now shifted their attention to alternative midfielders.

Furthermore, Basque outlet Noticias de Gipuzkoa also provided a brief update on Real Sociedad’s summer plans.

Their write-up on the club’s midfield outlook for the upcoming season suggested Merino to Arsenal was a done deal.

Real Sociedad had initially hoped to collect around €50 million (£43 million) when the time came to cash in.

However, Merino has entered the final year of his contract, forcing the Spanish side to lower their demands.

Accordingly, Arsenal have thundered in with a verbal offer of just €30 million (£26 million) prior to add-ons.

News of Arsenal’s verbal bid was confirmed by both reliable reports in Spain as well as transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

In a follow-up, Romano declared a club-to-club agreement to be ‘very very close.’

“Let me say that Arsenal are really closing in on the deal for Mikel Merino and let me clarify that the package is going to be something around €30m,” wrote the reporter.

“We’ll understand the structure of the deal in the next days, but the agreement between Arsenal and Real Sociedad is really, really close. Everything is proceeding to the final stages.”

Whether the €30 million offer will be enough to seal the deal or whether Arsenal will have to raise the stakes remains to be seen.

Nonetheless, what is clear are five things: Merino wants Arsenal, Barcelona aren’t a threat, personal terms are agreed, Real Sociedad are open to selling, and the Gunners won’t have to pay the full price.