To add to that, Thomas Partey and Jorginho, as amazing as they are, are on the wrong side of 30 and aren’t getting any younger.
Arteta has been desperate for a new midfielder this summer, and Merino emerged as Arsenal’s top target.
After a lot of speculation, Arsenal had a bid rejected for Merino by Real Sociedad, but everyone predicted that they would go back in with an improved offer.
Romano revealed on Saturday that Arsenal and Sociedad had agreed on a basic fee for Merino. Now, he has claimed that the player has spoken to Arteta and the deal could be done in the coming hours.
He said: “Get ready, guys, because these could be important hours. My feeling, talking to my sources, is that could be something like 24-48 hours, but we are really at the final meters, at the final details of the Mikel Merino deal. The here we go to Arsenal is really, really close. We can say almost there.
“They are working on the final steps and then Mikel Merino will be a new Arsenal player. As I told you, there is already an agreement on the final fee ,they’re working, it’s already two-three weeks on the payment terms, the deal, structure, the add-ons. So, the details of the deal, but they’re getting closer on everything, even on the details.
“So, Mikel Merino is extremely close to becoming a new Arsenal player. He already had some conversations with Mikel Arteta. He can’t wait to play for Mikel Arteta, as I told you these weeks. Really similar to the Calafiori story. The player is super-attracted by the project, he believes that Arsenal is the perfect place to be and so, work in progress on this one.
“We are really at the final steps of the summer for Mikel Merino to go to Arsenal. The player (Merino) is not called up for the opening game in La Liga for Real Sociedad. Also, Imanol, the manager of Real Sociedad, confirmed that in this moment, it was better not to call the player because there are negotiations and the negotiations are with Arsenal. The negotiations are very advanced.
“The director of Arsenal, Edu, has been in Spain in recent days to advance on the deal. So getting definitely closer to the here we go for Mikel Merino.”
