Romano: Arsenal eye move to sign £25m international star as Arteta continues to bolster squad

Arsenal are reportedly ‘showing an interest’ in signing Real Sociedad star Mikel Merino this summer, as per the transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Speculation surrounding the Spain international’s future has continued to grow as he hasn’t decided to sign a contract extension with La Real despite entering the final year of it.

Merino is said to be keen on taking the next step in his career, therefore he doesn’t want to prolong his stay at the Reale Arena. So, Arsenal are seemingly looking to purchase him by taking advantage of his current situation.

Speaking on GiveMeSport, Romano has reported that Real Sociedad are keen on keeping hold of their star man and are willing to try until the end to tie him down into a new deal.

However, the Spanish side are open to cashing-in on him before the end of this window if they can’t manage to persuade him to sign a renewal.

Merino to Arsenal

The journalist further claims that Arsenal are showing an interest in signing him and they could make a swoop over the coming days to bolster their engine room.

However, Romano says that Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are also in this race so the Gunners will have to overcome stiff competition from the Spanish giants in getting any potential deal done for him.

Romano said:

“Real Sociedad believe that Merino will not sign a new contract. They are still trying until the end to offer him a new deal, but they feel that this is going to be more than complicated.

“With one year left on his contract, the expectation is that if he doesn’t sign a new deal shortly, he’s going to be allowed to leave the club. There is interest also from Barcelona, interest also from Atletico Madrid. So these three clubs, Barca, Atletico and Arsenal, are showing an interest.”

Real Sociedad are reportedly open to selling Merino for a fee of around £25m, therefore, Arsenal can manage to secure his signature for an affordable price.

Arsenal have purchased Riccardo Calafiori to strengthen the backline and after securing his signature, the North London club are now seemingly looking to accelerate their efforts to bolster the midfield by signing Merino.

Additionally, Arsenal are said to want a new striker as well and have been linked with a move for Viktor Gyokeres. Therefore, it is going to be interesting to see whether the Emirates club can eventually manage to strengthen all of their intended areas of the squad before the end of this window.