Mikel Merino singles out Arsenal star who demanded he made £32m transfer (original) (raw)

Mikel Merino has become Arsenal's third senior summer signing, following David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori in completing a permanent move to the Emirates Stadium

Mikel Merino has completed a permanent move to Arsenal

Arsenal new boy Mikel Merino has admitted international team-mate David Raya was "always asking" when he would be joining him in North London.

Spain goalkeeper Raya became the Gunners' first summer signing when he signed permanently after a successful loan from Brentford. Riccardo Calafiori was the second, completing a £42m move from Bologna, and now Merino has become number three after his move from Real Sociedad - worth up to £32m with add-ons - was made official.

The former Newcastle United man will wear 23 for the Gunners, the same number he wore at St James' Park. He left Newcastle for La Real in 2018, spending the last six years at Anoeta.

All of his senior Spain caps came after his return to the Basque Country, and he scored an important goal against Germany at Euro 2024. He also spoke plenty of times with Raya during the tournament, and has now shed some light on those conversations.

"Obviously when the rumours started he [Raya] was always asking me, 'What’s going on? Am I going to see you next year with us?!'," Merino told club media.

"We have a good relationship and obviously won the Euros together so I’m extremely happy to have him here. I think he will be a big help for me to adapt to this new life. He is an amazing team-mate."

Merino also spoke of the conversations he had with Martin Odegaard, with whom he played at Real Sociedad in the 2019-20 season. "It was amazing sharing the pitch with him back in the day," he said. "I have a lot of good memories of our connection and hopefully we can have an even better connection here."

How good a signing is Mikel Merino? Have your say in the comments section

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya is an international team-mate of Mikel Merino (

Image:

Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal sporting director Edu pointed to Merino as a player who can fit perfectly into the Gunners' squad. Arsenal are next in action on Saturday when they welcome Brighton to North London, and manager Mikel Arteta will need to decide whether to throw the new signing in at the deep end.

“Mikel is a player who will bring us huge quality with his experience and versatility," Arteta said. "He has played at the top of the game at both club and international level for a number of seasons now. 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. We are delighted to welcome Mikel and his family to the club and can’t wait to start working with him.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more