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Following the arrival of Riccardo Calafiori, Arsenal have finally secured their second summer signing in Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino.
But who is the Spaniard, what will he bring to the side and why is he costing (up to) £32 million? Phil Costa reports.
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“Why do Arsenal want to sign a 28-year-old who flopped at Newcastle six years ago?” was a question posed online when initial whispers emerged regarding Mikel Merino. This is the same Mikel Merino who led that side for interceptions (2.3), possession regains (9.5) and passes attempted per 90 (55.7) that season, while only Mohamed Diamé (81.5%) had better pass accuracy than his 79.8% – according to Opta Analyst.
In fact, the club and thousands of Geordies were all desperate to keep him but there was a €12m release clause included into his contract set for Basque clubs only, which allowed Real Sociedad a free run at the then 22-year-old. According to Rafael Benitez who was manager at the time, he wouldn’t have joined the Magpies without it.
The midfielder has gone about his business fairly professionally in the six years since joining La Real but that doesn’t need to be a bad thing. From breaking through and becoming a regular starter at boyhood club Osasuna, there have been brave (and difficult) steps to Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle in between, all experiences which have helped him become the all-action player he is today.
Merino has referenced the weight of replicating his father at Osasuna, and how Thomas Tuchel drilled the importance of the basics into him at Dortmund despite struggling for minutes in Germany. More importantly, he spoke about how his time at Newcastle taught him how to “take hits” and navigate “men with enormous bodies”, with Spanish football mostly centred around tactics and appreciation for the ball.
326 – Mikel Merino won more duels (326) than any other player across the big five European leagues in 2023-24, while only Chris Ramos (174) won more…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/08/new-signing-profile-mikel-merino/
Author : Phil Costa
Publish date : 2024-08-27 15:43:09
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