Arsenal chief Edu arrives in Spain to finalise signing of Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino
Arsenal have signed David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori this summer
Arsenal chief Edu is currently in Spain to finalise the signing of Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino, according to the Mirror.
The move follows Arsenal’s verbal indication last month that they were willing to pay around £25 million for the Spaniard.
Although an agreement seemed imminent at that time, progress has been slow.
Despite Merino having already agreed on personal terms with Arsenal, negotiations have faced delays.
However, a deal now appears to be on the horizon, with optimism growing that Merino will join David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori in completing a permanent transfer to the Emirates.
Real Sociedad have been working tirelessly over the past ten days to persuade Merino’s midfield partner, Martin Zubimendi, to stay at the club after an unsuccessful approach from Liverpool.
Arsenal may need to make a sale before finalising new purchases due to the tightening of Premier League Financial Fair Play regulations.
Bournemouth are still in discussions over the signing of striker Eddie Nketiah, who is the leading candidate to depart.
The Gunners are aiming to finally overtake Manchester City in the Premier League title race, having fallen agonizingly short in the past two seasons.
Edu has emphasized throughout the summer that Arsenal will only pursue players who can genuinely enhance the squad.
Speaking at the end of last season, he said: “You can’t sign for the sake of signing.
“This has to be a process that takes weeks and weeks.
“On my table, I have reports with over 180 pages of a player.
“It is really detailed. Physical, technical, mental profile – if you have experience of Premier League, if you will be able to adapt.
“It has it all.
“We analyse our shortcomings, where we can improve, where we can invest and from there we go in search of this new name.
“What I am going to do now, we have been discussing since January.
“It is not my decision or Mikel.
“It’s from a whole group.”
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