The Gunners' sporting director, Edu, has also been in Spain this week and is optimistic a deal can be reached for a fee in the region of €30m (£25m).
Arsenal consider this to be a bargain and they are not put off by Merino's age. In fact, Arteta has made it clear to Edu he prefers to go for a more experienced name. It was the same when Arsenal signed Jorginho from Chelsea.
Merino, who scored the late extra-time winner against Germany to send Spain into the Euro 2024 semi-finals, has already indicated he wants the move to Arsenal. With the midfielder having less than 12 months left on his contract, Sociedad are resigned to a sale, knowing an extension is out of the question as long as the north Londoners are at the negotiating table.
Merino’s arrival is likely to depend on Eddie Nketiah’s departure, with Arsenal looking for a similar fee. This is a reduced number from the beginning of the window, but was still out of Marseille’s budget.
The Ligue 1 side have since signed Elye Wahi from Lens, thus ending their pursuit of the Gunners' academy graduate. Bournemouth had looked at Nketiah but have now agreed a €37m+€10m package for Brazilian forward Evanilson. Nketiah does have other suitors in Italy and Germany.
Merino’s future was never tied to his Sociedad teammate Martin Zubimendi, but the latter rejecting a move to Liverpool will still be seen as positive news by Arsenal for a different reason.
Arsenal tried for Zubimendi last summer and soon realised the player was too in love with his boyhood club to leave. They made contact again with Zubimendi in January and believed his position hadn’t changed. As a result, Arsenal chose not to make an approach this summer, even knowing Liverpool at one point held optimism, and their position not to bid and instead focus on Merino has been vindicated.
Arsenal are also hoping to add a striker this window, but links with Napoli frontman Victor Osimhen are premature since there has been no meaningful movement to date. GMS also understands that the Nigeria international prefers a move to Chelsea over the Gunners.
Both clubs would need the overall cost of a transfer to drop considerably in order to make a serious move. Paris Saint-Germain have already agreed terms with Osimhen, who is open to joining the French champions, and Saudi side Al-Ahli are monitoring the situation without yet making an offer.
Arsenal are also looking at Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres, Brighton and Hove Albion's Evan Ferguson and Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez, but their budget may prevent them from adding any of these names this summer without a further outgoing first.
Aside from Nketiah, Aaron Ramsdale is the most likely Arsenal player to depart, with the England goalkeeper open to going abroad. Eredivisie giants Ajax have had a loan bid rejected but remain in talks and believe Ramsdale is keen on a switch to the Netherlands.
Atletico Madrid aArsenal have already sold 20-year-old defender Brooke Norton-Cuffy to Genoa for an initial €2m with a further €2m in add-ons.nd Bournemouth are two other sides to have enquired. However, GMS understands that Newcastle United never made an offer, or even advanced talks, despite reports.
Reiss Nelson will also be allowed to leave Arsenal for a fee in excess of £15m. West Ham United and Leicester City have both made approaches but believe that price is too steep.
Meanwhile, ahead of Arsenal’s season opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jurrien Timber is close to full fitness in a big boost for the club. The 23-year-old defender missed much of last term with a serious knee injury, and has since suffered a minor foot issue during pre-season, but Arteta said his recovery has been “very positive”.
Fabio Vieira should also be back from a minor hip issue, but Takehiro Tomiyasu won’t return until September at the earliest due to a knee injury.
Overall, Arteta has been delighted with Arsenal’s pre-season, which has seen them lose just once and add versatile left-sided defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna, as well as make Raya’s Brentford loan permanent.
As Arsenal’s players have further strengthened their bond ahead of the new season, it was revealed by The Athletic that Arteta deployed a novel trick to teach his squad a lesson. At a team dinner, the Spanish tactician secretly hired pickpockets to rob his players before asking them to empty their pockets, and to their surprise, several phones and wallets were missing. Arteta then fessed up that he was behind the mock-robbery and warned his players they will need to stay alert at all times, on and off the pitch.
Arsenal are now very focused on the final two weeks of the window with their next task to try and get Merino over the line at a fee they consider a steal.
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