How Mikel Merino feels about Arsenal transfer after phone call with Mikel Arteta

Mikel Merino has reportedly adopted a clear stance on joining Arsenal after speaking with Mikel Arteta on the phone. The Gunners are believed to be closing in on a deal to sign the former Newcastle midfielder, who is poised to become their second arrival of the summer window.

It has been reported that Arsenal will pay around £30million for Merino’s signature with the deal set to be wrapped up in the coming days. He did not play for Real Sociedad in their opening game of the La Liga season against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday evening.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Spain international ‘cannot wait’ to join Arsenal after being left encouraged by his conversations with Arteta. It is said that he recently spoke to the Gunners boss on the phone, which only reinforced his desire to move to north London this summer.

The move is now ‘extremely close’ to being finalised with the structure of the deal and other payment terms agreed between the clubs. It seems likely that Merino will officially become an Arsenal player before their next Premier League game against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Arteta was quizzed on his pursuit of Merino in the aftermath of Arsenal’s recent victory over Wolves and flashed a cheeky grin as he delivered a coy response.

He was asked if ‘Mikel likes Mikel’ and attempted to laugh off the question by responding: “If I like myself, you mean?” Arteta continued to smile when it was confirmed that Merino was the one being referred to, saying: “You know that I cannot talk about any other players.”

Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil all but confirmed that Merino was set to join Arsenal in a press conference over the weekend. He described the midfielder as the ‘best player in La Liga’ and revealed that Carlos Fernandez was also poised to leave the club in a separate deal.

“Both players have open conversations with other clubs and we’ll see what happens,” said Alguacil. “I have to thank both of them, as a person, and also as a club, for everything they have given us.

“I have classified Mikel as the best player in La Liga. You can imagine what that means. If you add Robin [Le Normand, who left for Atletico Madrid], the starting centre-back in the national team that won the European Championship, imagine what the team loses.”