Mikel Merino will finally get his wish to spend more time playing alongside Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard after completing his move to the Emirates. After weeks of negotiations, the Spaniard has sealed a £32million switch to the Premier League side from Real Sociedad, becoming the Gunners’ third signing of the summer.
It followed the Euro 2024 winner spending six years with the La Liga club, making 348 appearances and scoring 36 times.
His sole trophy with Sociedad came in the 2019/20 campaign as they landed the Copa del Rey, beating Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in the final.
And it was during that campaign where he featured in midfield along Odegaard, who was at the club on loan from Real Madrid. The two players formed an effective partnership, before the Norwegian headed back to the Bernabeu before moving on loan to Arsenal.
Upon his departure, Merino took to social media to express his regret that he would no longer be a team-mate of the now captain of the Gunners. “It has been a pleasure to share this year and this beautiful season with you,” he wrote.
“Because of the way you are, you have won the affection of everyone, both fans and especially teammates! We are going to miss you! Looking forward on the field and not seeing you between the lines is going to be strange.”
Merino, 28, finished his message by saying: “It was nice to play in the middle with you. I wish it had lasted a little longer! Good luck in your new challenge.”
After completing his move on Tuesday, Merino confirmed that he and Odegaard had been in contact this summer, and expressed his delight at being reunited with the 25-year-old. “We exchanged some messages a few days ago,”he told Arsenal’s official club website.
“He told me he was really happy for me to take this next step in my life. It was amazing sharing the pitch with him back in the day. I have a lot of good memories of our connection and hopefully we can have an even better connection here.”
How soon Merino gets his wish remains to be seen, with the player now eligible for the home game with Brighton on Saturday. Following the impressive showing at Aston Villa last weekend though, manager Mikel Arteta is unlikely to break up the midfield trip of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, and Odegaard when he names his starting XI.
Odegaard won’t represent the only reunion for Merino though. Last season, Arsenal left back Kieran Tierney spent time on loan at Sociedad, and reportedly advised the new addition to join the club this summer.
