'Always a Gooner' - Mikel Merino recreates amazing childhood photos after completing Arsenal transfer

The midfielder has joined the Gunners from Real Sociedad for a fee that could reach £31.6 million (€37.4m/$41.8m). It brings to an end a pretty lengthy transfer saga, with Merino becoming Arsenal's third signing of the window after the arrivals of David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori.

Arsenal announced the move by sharing footage of Merino being introduced to his new colleagues by Mikel Arteta. The 28-year-old then joined in by posting a series of images where he recreated childhood photos from 2005, where he is seen wearing Arsenal's 2004-05 home kit. "Always a Gooner", Merino captioned the post.

Merino has Premier League experience, joining Newcastle United on an initial loan move in 2017 before the move from Borussia Dortmund was made permanent. The Spaniard made 25 appearances in total for the Magpies before he signed for Real Sociedad in 2018.

Merino has wasted no time in joining up with his new team-mates as the Gunners attempt to go one better than the previous two seasons and win the Premier League title for the first time since 2003-04.