According to Fichajes, coach Mikel Arteta wants to upgrade the quality of the midfield in the upcoming January transfer window.

Mikel Merino is a product of the Osasuna youth academy. He left Spain in 2016 and played for Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United before returning to his homeland to join Real Sociedad in 2018.

Since then, the 27-year-old has developed a strong career and become one of the best midfielders in La Liga.

To date, Merino has made more than 200 appearances for Sociedad, scoring 20 goals and 27 assists. His classy performances are now attracting interest from many big clubs, some of which include Arsenal .

In a context where Thomas Partey is often injured and Jorginho is getting older, coach Mikel Arteta needs to find a way to strengthen the midfield alongside Declan Rice. For that reason, he targeted Merino.

However, the fee in this deal is not cheap. According to sources from Fichajes, Sociedad only agreed to release the player if the contract release clause worth 60 million euros was activated.

Arsenal eyes high-class ‘superstar’ of La Liga

According to Metro, Arsenal sent scouts to monitor left-back Miguel Gutierrez . The 22-year-old star had a convincing performance in the Girona shirt. This season, Girona caused a big surprise by taking the top spot in La Liga, 2 points ahead of Real Madrid.

Miguel is a familiar face to many Los Blancos fans. The Spanish player went through the Real Madrid youth levels. Miguel made 10 appearances for Real Madrid’s first team but could not compete for a regular starting position.

In 2022, Miguel moved to Girona. Since then, the 22-year-old defender has achieved a major breakthrough in his career. In total, Miguel had 46 appearances on the field for Girona. The current contract between the Spain U21 international and Girona will expire in 2027.

Arsenal is one of the teams eager to get Miguel’s signature . The Gunners were linked to the 22-year-old defender in 2021 when he made his Real Madrid first team debut.

At that time, Los Blancos decided to keep Miguel. In that context, Arsenal switched to another plan when recruiting Oleksandr Zinchenko from Man City.

Arsenal