Arsenal face obstacle to Merino transfer as last-gasp bid made for Spain star

Arsenal are facing a late obstacle to their move for Mikel Merino after Real Sociedad made a last-gasp bid to keep the midfielder.

The Gunners had looked set to sign Merino, who won Euro 2024 with Spain in the summer. It was thought he is available for £25million after entering the final year of his contract at Sociedad.

That saw him emerge as a target for Mikel Arteta, who has already signed Riccardo Calafiori and David Raya this summer. Despite Declan Rice's impressive performances last season, Arteta appears to view midfield as a position that requires recruits.

But it seems it will be more difficult than expected for Arteta to get hold of his top man. But it is not a rival club who have swooped in for Merino, instead Sociedad still hold out hope of keeping him in Spain.

According to Noticias de Gipuzkoa, Sociedad have been turned 'upside down' by the impending departures of Merino and Martin Zubimendi. With fans growing increasingly pessimistic, Sociedad chiefs are sparing 'no expense' in an attempt to keep hold of at least one of the duo - with Zubimendi's £51million release clause in Liverpool's sights.

Club president Jokin Aperribay has returned from his holiday to take charge of the situation and is searching for a path forward. Merino has already signalled that he is keen to join Arsenal.

But Sociedad are doing everything they can to keep the 28-year-old, even offering him the chance to become the highest-paid player in the squad. That offer seems to have come too late though, with the wage still far below what he would earn at Arsenal.

Thankfully for the Gunners, Merino's move to the Emirates is still expected to be on track. Boss Arteta will likely breathe a sigh of releif at that news, having conceded his side still need to make improvements before the season kicks off.

"I think we are in good condition. I think we played some really competitive matches. We have a lot of talent there [in the academy] that we want to use and they show that they are very much pushing to earn the right to play with us," he said after their tour of the United States.

"Obviously we can improve. It makes the difference when you're in those areas in those spaces in the box, putting the ball in the back of the net and we created a situation, we had another two or three big open situations to go better but we didn’t, so we have to improve."

While Merino appears to be close to joining the Gunners, Arteta is still searching for the striker his squad badly needs. They are set to sanction Eddie Nketiah's loan move to Marseille, which will also include an obligation to buy.

If Nketiah departs as expected, the Gunners will surely need to bring in a replacement. An out and out goalscorer would appear to be the missing link in Arsenal's bid to finally end their two-decade title drought.