- Real Sociedad have rejected a £21.5million bid for Merino from the Gunners
- An improved £30m bid looks set to seal a deal for the Spain international
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Arsenal are prepared to increase their offer for Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino to around £30m.
Their opening bid of £21.5million for the 28-year-old was rejected, but he is keen to make the switch.
Sporting director Edu was in Spain to accelerate negotiations, as the 28-year-old midfielder is open to a transfer.
Merino has one year left on his contract and played in all seven matches for Spain at the European Championship.
The midfielder scored the decisive second goal for Spain in extra time in their quarter-final win over Germany, with his header finding the net in the 119th minute to send Spain through.
Arsenal are preparing an improved £30m bid to sign Spain international Mikel Merino
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta hopes the offer will help him land his top summer midfield target
Merino came on in the closing stages of Spain’s 2-1 win over England in the final and helped Spain sit out the final minutes.
The 28-year-old made 45 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring eight goals for Real society.
If a deal is struck, Merino would be Arsenal’s second major signing for the squad this summer.
The Gunners have already signed Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori for £42million, while the loan move of David Raya from Brentford has also been made permanent.
Merino has experience in the Premier League, having played one season with Newcastle in the 2017-2018 season.
He later became a key player at Real Sociedad under coach Imanol Alguacil and was part of the LaLiga squad for the 2022-2023 season.
In total he played 242 games for Erreala, including at least 40 games per season in the last three seasons.
Merino scored the winning goal for Spain against Germany in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 in July
The former Borussia Dortmund and Osasuna player scored 36 goals and provided 36 assists in his career.
Arsenal’s interest has been boosted after Real Sociedad convinced their defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi to stay until the 2024-25 season.
Mail Sport previously reported that Zubimendi has turned down several big clubs, including Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
