It may have taken longer than anyone realistically wanted but, as of Tuesday afternoon, Mikel Merino is finally an Arsenal player.
Joining in a deal worth around £32 million, one of Spain’s Euro 2024 heroes belatedly arrives at the Premier League challengers on a long-term deal.
Four days after Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil confirmed that the all-action midfielder was on his way to North London, Mikel Merino was pictured in an Arsenal shirt for the first time.
A shirt adorned by the number 23, Merino following in the footsteps of Andrey Arshavin, Sol Campbell and Ray ‘the Romford Pele’ Parlour.
“We are so happy to have completed the transfer of Mikel Merino,” sporting director Edu Gaspar tells the Arsenal website, delighted to land a man who was reportedly on the radars of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
“This has been another great team effort from many people at the club to finalise the transfer of a player who attracted interest from a number of clubs over the summer.
“Mikel was a key target for us this summer. We identified him as a player who can fit perfectly into our squad and profile to improve us. With Mikel’s arrival, he brings us an added high quality of experience, physicality and athleticism as we look forward to this season ahead.”
Arsenal could follow Mikel Merino with Espanyol’s Joan Garcia
But while Arsenal have finally secured the services of one La Liga ace, what about another?
With Aaron Ramsdale potentially on his way out the door – Wolves are keen on a man who needs to play first-team football after a year stuck on the bench – there may soon be room at the Emirates Stadium for a new back-up shot-stopper.
So, enter Joan Garcia. Or, at least, that is the idea.
HITC understands that Arsenal agreed terms with the Espanyol glovesman last week. But nothing can be signed and sealed until Ramsdale’s future is sorted out first, meaning the 6ft 3ins, former Spain Under 21 international finds himself stuck in limbo ahead of the final few days of the window.
For Espanyol coach Manolo Gonzalez, September cannot come soon enough.
Goalkeeper deal dependent on Aaron Ramsdale departure
“He is a very good goalkeeper. I am calm when he plays,” Gonzalez tells Mundo Deportivo of Garcia, a gold medal winner at the Paris Olympics and integral to Espanyol’s promotion campaign in 2023/24.
“I don’t know about the transfer market, although I hope he doesn’t leave. What the club tells me is that he should not leave unless a club comes (in with an offer) and nothing can be done.
“He is a great goalkeeper.”
According to The Standard, 23-year-old Joan Garcia has a release clause worth around £21 million in his contract. Hence Garcia’s admission that – if such a clause is met – Espanyol can do nothing but watch on helplessly as he packs his bags and boards a flight away from Catalonia.
“I am very calm,” Garcia said last week, putting the speculation to one side ahead of Espanyol’s 1-0 defeat by Real Sociedad. “I am a person who isolates himself from all this and I am focused on next Saturday’s game.
“In football, these things do not depend on oneself. But I am very happy here.”
