Mikel Merino has finally put pen to paper on his Arsenal contract, and immediately vowed to ‘fight for every ball with 100 per cent.’
The Spain international, who won the European Championships with his national team in Germany this summer, has arrived from Real Sociedad with a reputation as one of the continent’s most combative midfielders.
Indeed he won more duels than any other players across Europe’s big five leagues last season (326) and speaking in his first interview after signing, he said he can’t wait to bring those qualities to his new club.
“I think that’s a big part of my game and that shows the character that I have," he said. "I want to fight for every ball and this is something that I learnt when I was really young. Maybe you can win it, or you won’t. I’m not promising I will win every duel, but what I can promise is that I will fight for every ball with 100 per cent.
“It’s always tough to talk about myself in those kinds of terms, but I think I’m a hard worker, I want to call myself a good teammate. I like to work for the team with or without the ball. I’m always thinking about the collective aspect of the game. I like to play with the ball, I have a Spanish culture of football.”
The 28-year-old has spent the past six seasons with Real Sociedad in Spain’s top flight, making nearly 250 appearances and winning the Cope del Rey in 2020. He previously had brief spells with Borussia Dortmund and, back in 2017/18, played a season in the Premier League with Newcastle United. He believes that experience will hold him in good stead.
“I think it will be massive, because of how tough this league is if you come as a new player,” he added. “Maybe you don’t realise it until you try it. But right now I have the idea of how this league is and how tough every game is. Obviously talking with teammates, or ex-teammates who are here, I know how high the standard is right now. You have to win every single game. I have a little idea of the stadiums, the teams, the atmosphere you are about to expect, it’s always an advantage.”
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Mikel also knows a few of his new teammates well already. Aside from playing with David Raya in the national team setup, he also previously lined up alongside Martin Odegaard and Kieran Tierney when they had loan seasons with Real Sociedad in 2019/20 and 2023/24 respectively. He said he has already been in touch with our captain.
“Yes, we exchanged some messages a few days ago,” our new No. 23 said. “He told me he was really happy for me to take this next step in my life. It was amazing sharing the pitch with him back in the day. I have a lot of good memories of our connection and hopefully we can have an even better connection here.
“I remember a pretty good play we made against Osasuna away, where we had a one-two and it finished in a goal for us. But just in general, in every training, in every game I think we had a good connection. He’s a player who moves extremely well behind the back of the midfielders, and for us who play in a similar position, he made the job really easy for me.”
During his first interview, Mikel also revealed that an Arsenal kit was one of the first he ever owned as a kid 20 years ago, and finished by outlining his ambitions while wearing the famous red and white for real.
“I wouldn’t move to a club that are not aligned with my desires,” he said. “What I want is to grow, to win, to fulfil my dreams and I think this club has the same mentality. This is something I value a lot. I value a lot the work they put in every single day.
"I have spoken with Mikel [Arteta] and he’s told me the way they work, and I love that way of working as well. So I think it’s the perfect match, now it’s time to get to work, the part I love doing, and hopefully everything goes well.
“The thing that inspires me a lot is they keep doing it. They are keeping the hunger, they won’t give up and I want to come here and help them achieve their goals. Obviously they have an amazing team, an amazing squad, I can see they have amazing facilities, amazing staff around them. So I think it’s the best mix, and hopefully this year we can do big things together.”
Watch the full interview with our new arrival by pressing play on the video above
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