Mikel Merino isn’t the most exciting transfer, but Arsenal might have struck gold with Spain’s unlikely Euro 2024 hero

Merino's story begins in Pamplona, Spain. He signed youth forms with local side Osasuna and enjoyed a rapid ascent through the age groups, making his senior debut in a victory over Barcelona B in August 2014, aged 18.

Despite his tender years, he soon emerged as an important first-team player, racking up 29 appearances during his first senior season. After helping Osasuna narrowly avoid relegation, he was afforded even more trust the following year, missing just eight league games as his side qualified for, and then won, the play-offs. However, Merino would not get a taste of La Liga action for his boyhood club, as Borussia Dortmund snapped him up in the summer of 2016.

Despite the German side's reputation as an ideal landing spot for young players, Merino never really settled in his new surroundings. After struggling to break into the first team, he joined Rafa Benitez's Newcastle in July 2017, initially on loan, though the deal would be made permanent after he had made just five appearances. He showed promise for the Magpies, scoring an important late winner against Crystal Palace, but would once again be moved on at the end of that season.

It was reported at the time that Merino's departure was taken out of Newcastle's hands due to his low release clause. Real Sociedad were the lucky beneficiaries of this, picking the midfielder up for around €12 million (£10m/$13m). And this return to Spain would prove to be the making of him.

After enjoying a promising opening campaign with La Real, Merino properly exploded during the 2019-20 season, ticking off a string of career milestones. Not only did he wear the captain's armband for the first time, he also lifted his maiden piece of major silverware, starring alongside the likes of Martin Odegaard, David Silva and Alexander Isak as the San Sebastian outfit knocked out Real Madrid en route to lifting the Copa del Rey.

To cap off an outstanding year, Merino was handed his first ever Spain call-up in August 2020 with a maiden cap coming the following month against Germany in the Nations League. There was no doubt he was now one of La Real's key men and being handed a fresh contract until the end of the 2024-25 reflected his importance to the cause.

It's been more of the same from Merino since then. At international level, he spent some time out of the Spain squad, but since Luis de la Fuente's appointment after the 2022 World Cup, he has not missed out on a single selection, helping La Roja lift the Nations League trophy in June last year.

He's made continued progress for his club, too. After an injury-affected 2020-21 campaign, Merino has only missed a handful of matches for La Real over the past three seasons. In 2022-23, he recorded a career-best nine league assists as his side secured a fourth-place finish, with the midfielder netting twice during the subsequent Champions League run last season.

His career-defining strike at the Euros, then, was simply the icing on the cake for Arsenal. There's little doubt that Arteta and Co will have been tracking his development closely over the past few years, such has been his consistency for club and country.

When considering what makes Merino stand out, there's only one place to start. Last season, no midfielder won more aerial duels across Europe's top five leagues and he's rightly earned a reputation as the king of the flick-on. This makes him a fearsome presence when attacking and defending goal-kicks, while he's a serious threat in both boxes too.

Merino's insatiable appetite for winning the ball is not restricted to aerial challenges either. Last season, he completed 77 tackles, a figured better by just five La Liga midfielders, and only narrowly bested by Declan Rice, who played considerably more minutes than him. What will be particularly enticing for Arteta is how adept Merino is at winning the ball in the opposition's half, a quality they've lacked in midfield since Granit Xhaka's departure. Last term, no La Liga player dispossessed more players in the final third, with Arsenal's midfielders getting nowhere near his numbers in this regard.

It's not all about what he brings out of possession, though. Merino is also capable of finding pockets between the opposition backline and getting onto the end of crosses. His career-defining goal in the Euros demonstrated this nicely, and last season alone he netted three times with his head for La Real.

For all of his dominance in ground and aerial duels, Merino's ball skills are not elite. He's intelligent enough to find space, but there are occasions when he struggles to receive under pressure. Last season, he averaged over two miscontrols per 90 minutes, well over double what Rice registered and worse than every Arsenal midfielder who played over five games.

Last campaign's pass completion rate of just 76.2 percent is concerning too, particularly as the Real Sociedad midfield was dominating a decent proportion of their matches. There are plenty of more probing passers on the market, too. In 2023-24, Merino averaged around six progressive passes per 90 minutes. Again, that was worse than every Arsenal midfielder who played significant minutes under Arteta.

His pace might also be a concern. He rarely gets beaten one-on-one, but if Arsenal are caught out in transition, he's not someone you'd anticipate to chase down some of the slicker Premier League forward lines on the counter.

Evidently then, Merino is not going to be dominating games on his own. But that's not to say that Arsenal look set to make a rare transfer misstep. Indeed, for the money being exchanged, this could prove to be a stroke of genius from the Gunners.

Capable of playing as a left-sided No.8, where he's spent the majority of his time at La Real, or as a holding midfielder, Merino will immediately offer an alternative to Rice. The England international scarcely missed a minute last season, and although Merino is not as devastating with the ball, his immense physical profile means Arsenal would not lose anything defensively if the pair were to swap out.

As evidenced by the signing of Riccardo Calafiori, physicality is clearly something Arteta values more than ever this season, and with the Real Sociedad star added to the mix, the Gunners should strengthen their reputation as one of, if not the best defensive side in Europe.

With Jorginho and Thomas Partey both the wrong side of 30, the Spaniard is also an exciting option as Arsenal's deepest midfielder. There's even the possibility for he and Rice to interchange positions during a match, adding another unpredictable element to the gameplan as Arteta seeks to improve down the left-hand side. The signing of Calafiori, return of Jurrien Timber and apparent resurgence of Gabriel Martinelli should help massively towards this aim, too.

Concerns over his passing remain, but Merino offers something in midfield that the Gunners do not currently possess, equipping Arteta with more ways to combat the opposition's strengths. If Arsenal can polish off their left-sided rebuild with another forward option, they may just be able to finally get over the hump and pip Manchester City to the Premier League title this season.