Mikel Arteta ‘contacts’ Euro 2024 star as Arsenal rival Barcelona for £21m deal | Football

Merino, who previously played for Newcastle United, has just one year left on his contract with the La Liga side and could be signed for around €25m (£21.1m).

Barcelona are one of the clubs interested in Merino but reports in Spain (via Sport Witness) suggest that Arsenal may have stolen a march on the Catalan giants.

It is said that Arteta has already spoken to Merino, who is currently competing at Euro 2024 with Spain, as he attempts to lure the midfielder to the Emirates.

The north London side have earmarked a central midfielder as one of the key places to upgrade this summer, with Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny expected to leave.

Arsenal have also been credited with interest in the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Amadou Onana, as well as Merino’s teammate, Martin Zubimendi.

Merino remained coy when asked recently about his future and said a decision would not be made until after Euro 2024.

‘The next step has to come from within, from me, from analysing myself, seeing what player I am now, where I am and where I want to go. And what is the way to do it,’ he said.

‘Now at a football level, I still have one more year at Real and I am in the best possible place to live and grow.

‘At the level of rumours, it is something that I do not give importance to because I believe that a Euros is the most important thing you can face and requires 100% of your attention.

‘So when the Euro is over and the days go by, I will meet with the club and my representative, to see what they have to say to me and what they don’t, and we’ll see.’