Mikel Merino has reportedly completed his medical at Arsenal as he moves closer to finalising a £33million transfer to join the north London club from Real Sociedad.
Mail Sport reported earlier this week that Mikel Arteta’s side had reached an agreement in principle with the LaLiga club to sign the Spain international, with the Gunners looking to bolster their midfield options.
On Sunday, Fabricius Romano provided an update on Merino’s impending move to the Emirates.
He wrote on X: ‘Mikel Merino has completed his medical as a new Arsenal player and the clubs have exchanged documents and the deal is closed.’
Merino is now expected to sign a deal until June 2028, with an option for a further year.
Fabrizio Romano wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Merino, 28, had “completed his medical” with Arsenal.
The Euro 2024 winner will sign a four-year contract to remain at the Emirates, and Romano also wrote that Arsenal and Real Sociedad were in the process of “exchanging documents”.
If the deal goes through, Merino will become Mikel Arteta’s (pictured) third permanent signing this summer.
If the deal is completed, Merino will become Arsenal’s third permanent transfer this summer after the Gunners signed David Raya from Brentford and Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna for £42m.
Transfer chiefs at the north London club had been keen on adding another midfielder this summer, with sporting director Edu having been in Spain this week to push through a deal.
This comes as Fabio Vieira looks set to end a loan to rejoin Porto in the coming days, having arrived in the capital just two years ago.
Despite joining the club for £30million in 2022, Vieira has struggled to make an impact in Arteta’s side and was not included in the Gunners’ squad for their 2-0 win at Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
Merino was an integral part of Spain’s successful Euro 2024 campaign, featuring in all of their matches during the tournament to help Luis de la Fuente’s side secure their fourth Euro title.
This comes as Fabio Vieira looks set to leave the club on loan and return to Porto two years after joining in a £30million deal.
Arsenal transfer chiefs have been in Spain this week trying to push through a deal for Merino (pictured).
The 28-year-old could partner Declan Rice in the Arsenal midfield and already has experience of playing in England, having joined Newcastle in 2017 initially on loan from Borussia Dortmund, before agreeing a permanent move in 2018.
But his stay at St James’ Park would not last long, as Merino returned to Real Sociedad that same summer, where he recorded 27 goals and 30 assists in 242 appearances in all competitions for the Spanish club.
The Spaniard only has one year left on his contract with Real Sociedad and was not called up for the opening LaLiga games against Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol.
