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This could be the week that the Mikel Merino deal finally takes a big step forward. I’ve been on holiday for the past fortnight and when I went away my information was the deal was on, but there was still plenty of negotiating left to do to sort out all the final details and how it would be structured. Now I’m back, the story isn’t that much different.
It’s always just been about the two clubs agreeing on a deal that works for the pair of them. Sociedad are obviously losing a major player in Merino and although there has always been an acceptance at the club that he would be allowed to go this summer due to his contract status, they were never just going to give him away.
His performances for Spain at the Euros also strengthened their position a bit so they have been holding out to get a fee and a deal structure that works for them and that has obviously seen things drag on a bit longer than Arsenal and certainly Mikel Arteta would have wanted.
There’s no doubt Arteta would have liked to have Merino on board earlier than this, but he has had to remain patient while discussions between the clubs have remained ongoing. But the deal now looks close and I expect things to move forward this week ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.
I can’t say yet what the final fee will end up being, but it looks like being around the £30million mark, which in today’s market does not seem excessive. It looks like being a good deal for Arsenal, who will be getting an excellent player who will really strengthen their midfield options, but it also looks like being a good one for Sociedad given Merino is now into the final year of his current contract.
It’s been quite a slow summer for Arsenal so far in terms of the transfer window, but providing there are no late hiccups in negotiations, it looks like they should soon be adding Merino to the arrival of Riccardo Calafiori.
It’s going to be really interesting to see what Mikel Arteta’s long-term plans are for his midfield should the Merino deal go through as expected. Thomas Partey started in the holding role against Wolves at the weekend, with Declan Rice again playing in a more advanced role alongside Martin Odegaard.
Partey has come in for quite a bit of criticism after the game for his performance, which I actually think is a bit harsh because I thought he had quite a good game. Yes, he was a bit sloppy in possession at times as he tired in the second half, but he was hardly alone in that.
But I do think that if Merino arrives, it will be Partey who will ultimately see his role in the side drop off a bit. Looking at how Arsenal set up, Merino looks tailor made for the left eight role that Rice is currently playing in. Arsenal have been looking for a long-term answer to that position after the Kai Havertz experiment failed. Rice has played well there since Havertz has been moved up front, but Merino naturally looks a better fit in that position.
It might take a few weeks as he is given time to settle in, but I would be surprised if that’s not where Arteta uses him long-term, with Rice then dropping back into the No.6 role that we saw him start last season in.
I don’t really see Partey moving on now. Arsenal have been open to him leaving for each of the past two summers, but they have not received any offers that have been deemed suitable. There has been interest from Saudi Arabia, but it’s never materialised into anything concrete.
So unless that changes I think he will stay and he will still have a big role to play this season. It will just be that he has to get used to being more a squad player than he has maybe been used to before in north London.
The futures of Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson will be a big talking point during the next couple of weeks as deadline day draws ever closer.
Both players will be allowed to go if decent offers arrive, but as yet Arsenal haven’t received any bids that they deem suitable.
We saw what happened with Nketiah and Marseille. Arsenal could have just relented and accepted what was being offered by the French club and had they done so then Nketiah would have agreed to the deal. But Arsenal have a price in mind and Marseille never really got close to that.
Some will say that was a mistake and the club should have just agreed to the deal and got some money in for a player who will rarely feature if he stays around. But those people are probably the same people who have criticised the club for selling badly over recent years. You can’t just have it both ways.
As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing close now when it comes to either Nketiah or Nelson, but the market always picks up as deadline day approaches so that could change at any moment.
I thought Saturday was a really strong start to the season for Arsenal.
It wasn’t the best performance we’ve seen from Arteta’s side, especially in the second half when there was a period before Bukayo Saka’s goal when things got a bit sloppy.
But on the whole there was plenty to like about the display. They scored two excellent goals, kept yet another clean sheet and absolutely deserved to get the three points.
Arteta admitted after the game that there were things that they would have to improve, but on the opening day it’s just about getting a win under your belts while the players start to find their fitness and rhythm once again.
I thought Kai Havertz was excellent. He and Saka were the stars of the show for me, although credit must also go to David Raya who made that superb save in the first half to keep out Jorgen Strand Larsen’s header.
Havertz’s numbers since he moved into the central striker’s role for Arsenal have been excellent. He has averaged a goal or an assist every 91.5 minutes since the start of 2024 in the Premier League. Only Cole Palmer, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Saka have a better record than that.
And that’s why there is no great concern within Arsenal to add an out and out striker to their squad before the end of the month. Obviously they wanted Benjamin Sesko earlier in the window, but he was viewed more as a development type addition. Havertz would still have started as the striker even if Sesko had joined.
I do still think they need to add another attacking option in the next couple of weeks. But I’m thinking more about another wide option that central one. Arsenal are a better team when they have Havertz as the focal point and I don’t see why he can’t end this season around the 20 goal mark.
If he keeps up doing what he has been doing since the start of 2024, that looks like a very realistic target for the impressive German.
