Arsenal supporters have urged the club to ‘walk away’ from a deal for Mikel Merino after having a £30million bid rejected by Real Sociedad. The Spanish midfielder looked destined to complete a move to the Emirates after being left out of his side’s match day squad on Sunday, with the Erreala beaten 2-1 at home by Rayo Vallecano.
Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil admitted his decision was due to Merino being in talks with another club, but appeared to change his tune after the defeat when pressed on the futures of both the midfielder and Martin Zubamendi.
“They still belong to Real and both are going to be with the team to the death,” he said. “Those of us who are here will go all out to win the game.”
The Euro 2024 winner is said to have agreed personal terms with Arsenal, but according to Spanish outlet Cope, Sociedad have now rejected the first offer of the Premier League club. The La Liga outfit want a fee closer to £35m for the 28-year-old, who has made 242 appearances since joining in 2018.
But with Merino now unlikely to be in place in time for a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday, fans of the Gunners have seemingly lost patience with the saga. And a number of them have taken to social media to urge Mikel Arteta to give up on the deal.
@Anuelmich wrote on X: “Mikel Merino’s transfer saga is dragging for long. Can we just wrap this up already?” @Arsenal59066 added: “If it’s true that Real Sociedad have rejected Arsenal’s offer of €35million for Mikel Merino, I think it’s time to walk away.”
And many appeared keen for Arteta to turn his attention to other players, with @EaziJr1 believing a better option lies in wait at Barcelona. “Can Arsenal please Hijack this Ilkay Gundogan deal instead of Mikel Merino?” he wrote.
@h0tfuc posted “I don’t want to hear nothing about no Mikel Merino anymore, go get me Bruno Guimarães.” @Khumbu meanwhile, argued the club didn’t even need a midfielder: “Let’s forget about the deal and go for a top striker instead. That’s all that we want over Mikel Merino.”
It seems negotiations are set to continue though. According to Mundo Deportivo, Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay has travelled to London today in an attempt to persuade Arsenal to raise their bid.
He’s said to be willing to accept payment in instalments. Merino has just 12 months left on his current deal, meaning he would be eligible to leave the club for free next summer, a notion which puts pressure on his current club to get a deal done.
Arteta however, has remained tight-lipped on any potential transfer. In his pre-match press conference before the win over Wolves on Saturday, he insisted his main focus was on his current squad and was not desperate for any more additions.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk