Arsenal have muscled their way to the front of the queue and past Barcelona in the race to sign Mikel Merino after it emerged they were ready to make contact with the Euro 2024 star’s entourage and present him with a huge contract offer to move to Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are looking for further squad additions this summer as they strive to go one step better than the successive runners-up places they have secured in the Premier League under Mikel Arteta. Having taken Manchester City down to the wire last time out, Arsenal now hope to further strengthen their squad and build on the great progress they have made in the last two seasons.
As a result, TEAMtalk understands that Arsenal have three areas in which they have seen as areas for improvement this summer, with a left-sided defender, a midfield partner for Declan Rice and a prolific centre forward all on their wishlist.
A new goalkeeper will also likely be sought with Aaron Ramsdale ready to push for a move away after becoming frustrated at life on the Gunners bench behind David Raya.
In terms of a new keeper, the Gunners are very much building for the future and, having already signed Danish goalkeeper Lucas Nygaard, are set to follow up by capturing a young Ajax shot-stopper too.
And while the signing of a reliable source of goals is not quite progressing as hoped right now, Arsenal do have some options in the fire as sporting director Edu looks to bring in a man capable of scoring more consistently than Eddie Nketiah (six goals in 37 appearances last season) and Gabriel Jesus (eight in 36) can provide.
Arsenal near capture of new keeper alongside Calafiori
That capture of a new left-sided defender deal, though, is almost over the line with a deal agreed to bring in Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna for a fee set to reach €50m (£42m).
Indeed, the Italy defender is on the cusp of finalising his transfer and progress on that front is expected to made in the next few days once the 22-year-old returns from his summer break.
And with his signing expected to be confirmed alongside Ajax keeper Tommy Setford, Gunners chief Edu has now turned his focus to the signing of an elite midfield partner for Rice.
That need for midfielder reinforcements has been highlighted by the exit at the season’s end of Mohamed Elneny, while another fringe star in Albert Sambi Lokonga is also closing on a move to Sevilla.
However, with Thomas Partey’s future very much under the spotlight, and with Arteta open to his sale with just a year left on his deal, the Gunners know they need more competition in the engine room with Rice and Jorginho likely to be left as their only senior options.
Arsenal transfers: Contact to be made over Mikel Merino signing
As a result, Arsenal have strongly tracked Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi for a number of years. And with an attractive €60m exit clause in his Real Sociedad contract, the Gunners have been given hope a deal is there to be done.
In recent weeks, though, it has emerged that the Euro 2024 winner has no intention of leaving his hometown club and that the 25-year-old could even discuss an extension to his current deal.
However, his teammate Merino does look highly likely to move on this summer with his deal at La Real expiring in summer 2025 and with the LaLiga club all but accepting the player is keen to move on.
The 28-year-old has been tracked by Barcelona for a good few months now as they look to raid their LaLiga rivals.
But according to TEAMtalk sources, Arteta has also made clear his wish to bring in the former Newcastle man, having reportedly reached out to discuss a potential move for him this summer and with the Gunners also prepared to abandon their usual transfer policy of only signing young, upcoming talent, to bring in the experienced star.
Merino, a part of Spain’s victorious Euro 2024 squad and the man who stepped off the bench to score their winner in the quarter-final against hosts Germany, is now ready to make a decision on his future following the successful conclusion of those European Championships.
And according to Mundo Deportivo, a move to Arsenal is likely with Gunners chief Edu now making contact with his entourage to offer the 6ft 2in midfielder what has been described as the ‘contract of a lifetime’ to move to north London.
Merino, who currently earns €3.2m a year at Sociedad – around £50,000 a week – will reportedly be offered a deal double his current wages and on a contract to 2027 with the option of an additional year on top of that.
That appears more than Barca are willing to pay him and if reports in Spain are accurate, the Gunners will quickly wrap up the signing of the midfielder and bring him back to the Premier League, having appeared previously on 25 occasions for Newcastle in the days of Rafa Benitez.
