When the final concludes on Sunday, all eyes will be on the midfielder’s future. According to reports, Arteta is personally encouraging Merino to join Arsenal this summer. The Arsenal manager is quite eager to sign him. The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract, and Real Sociedad is reportedly looking to trade Merino immediately.
Now, Football Transfers have claimed that Merino is open to signing for Arsenal.
The report claims that the ‘world–class‘ midfielder has already told Real Sociedad that he wants to leave the club this summer, and Arsenal are interested in signing him.
However, it has been revealed that Arsenal are only willing to pay €25 million (£21m) to get him because of his contract situation.
That could prove to be a problem as Tutto Juve have revealed that Sociedad are demanding €40 million (£33m) to sell him this summer.
Arsenal’s interest in Merino is a bit of a surprise.
The Spaniard is 28 years old already, which is a bit old for the profile the Gunners usually sign. Reports have claimed that Arteta had to convince the Arsenal board to change their transfer philosophy for Merino because he wants to sign him so much.
However, Arsenal’s initial plan wasn’t to sign Merino – they actually wanted Martin Zubimendi.
According to the article, ‘Merino’s name initially came up during Arsenal’s talks to sign’ Zubimendi, who has been on their radar for a long time. That transfer appears doubtful in this window, which is why they have shifted their focus to Merino, who is a fantastic player himself.
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