Arsenal ‘put an end’ to pursuit of Spain star after things ‘drastically changed in the last few hours’

Arsenal have shelved their interest in Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino, according to the latest reports coming out of Spain.

David Raya, who was on loan at the Gunners from Brentford last season, is the only permanent signing of the summer so far with Arsenal triggering the option in his temporary deal.

The Gunners are set to seal their second signing over the weekend as Bologna centre-back Riccardo Calafiori flew to England with his agents on Saturday .

And there have been rumours they have now turned their attention to a midfielder and, in particular, Real Sociedad and Spain’s Merino.

GiveMeSport wrote on Saturday :

‘GMS sources have been informed that Arsenal are set to make contact with Sociedad imminently as they are eager to land Merino after beginning to turn their attentions towards pinpointing their next priority target after the finer details of the deal for Calafiori have been ironed out.

‘The Gunners’ intention has been to study the market and let it settle, resulting in previous targets Douglas Luiz and Amadou Onana moving to Juventus and Aston Villa respectively, while Newcastle United’s asking price for Bruno Guimareas is out of reach and persuading Martin Zubimendi to leave Sociedad is difficult.

‘Merino’s Spain teammate Fabian Ruiz is also on Arsenal’s radar after catching the eye with his performances at Euro 2024, GMS sources have learned, but the Paris Saint-Germain man is not currently at the top of Arteta’s shopping list as he seeks an ideal midfield partner for Declan Rice.’

But now reports in Spain are claiming that Arsenal and Barcelona ‘seem to have put an end to the option of’ signing Merino this summer.

It is claimed that Barcelona ‘have put the signing of the midfielder on hold to focus all their financial efforts on bringing in Nico Williams and Dani Olmo’, while Arsenal ‘were the main interest’ but ‘the reality is that the London team has not put any transfer offer on the table’.

That has given Real Sociedad encouragement with the La Liga outfit hoping Merino ‘will remain with the club for at least one more season’.

MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Smith Rowe leaving Arsenal? Five galling Premier League homegrown sales that make sense
👉 Liverpool and Tottenham ‘make move’ to sign £86m Arsenal target amid Nketiah waiting game
👉 Arsenal ‘agree’ on next signing after Calafiori as Arteta gets green light to ‘step up his pursuit’

Oleksandr Zinchenko is one player who may find himself out of the team potentially next season if Arsenal are successful in the transfer market.

And when asked if Arsenal have ‘outgrown’ Zinchenko, William Gallas told Gambling Zone : “Yeah, I think Arsenal’s football has moved on from what Zinchenko offers them. Football is a game that constantly evolves, and it is changing again at the moment in terms of how the best teams try and defend.

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen teams ask their left backs and right backs to go into midfield and build play from the back. We’ve seen back fours become back threes with the ball – a defenders role has changed a lot, but now the focus seems to be on doing what they are there to do: defending very well and being strong.

“There is a trend moving towards a much more solid back four. There are a lot of reasons for that, but fundamentally, it’s about being stronger than your opponent and limiting the number of chances on your goal.

“Football is changing. We’re in a period that was made for real defenders.”