The Gunners have made huge improvements in the transfer market since sporting director Edu Gaspar’s arrival.
Edu, alongside Mikel Arteta, has built a side capable of winning major honours and Arsenal can find themselves unfortunate not to have at least one more Premier League under their belt after the past couple of seasons.
Much of their success in the market has come from snapping up talented prospects, with Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba all going on to become top-class players at Arsenal.
But Arteta has shown he can be flexible in that regard, particularly in the cases of Jorginho and Leandro Trossard, who have both become important players under the Spaniard.
And it would appear that Arsenal are ready to go against their usual transfer policy once again as they bid to land a key midfield target.
Mikel Merino of Spain during the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-final match between Spain v France at Munich Football Arena on July 09, 2024 in Munich, Germany.
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
Arsenal ready to move for Mikel Merino
The Gunners are keen to strengthen their options in midfield this summer but look set to miss out on Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi.
That’s according to TEAMtalk, with the outlet sharing the latest on Arteta’s search for a fresh face in the middle of the park.
Indeed, it’s claimed that while the Gunners typically target signing players under the age of 25, an exception could be made for Merino.
The Spaniard recently turned 28 but Arteta has apparently convinced the Arsenal board to break their transfer policy to sign him.
Merino’s experience would benefit Arsenal
Much like the arrival of Jorginho, the current Arsenal side will only benefit from another experienced head in the middle of the park.
Before last season, the Gunners were largely an inexperienced side but the signings of Jorginho, Trossard and even Rice, who boasts considerable international and Premier League experience at the age of 25, have added more know-how to Arteta’s side.
Merino would certainly provide that and could even be Arsenal’s answer to replacing Granit Xhaka on the left-hand side of the midfield three.
After an impressive campaign at Sociedad, Merino has been lauded as a ‘world-class’ midfielder and his ability on the ball would lend itself well to Arteta’s style of play.
The Spaniard has also featured regularly at Euro 2024, netting a vital extra time winner in Spain’s 2-1 win over Germany in the quarter-finals.
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