Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said he “cannot talk” about transfer targets after being asked about Mikel Merino, who the Gunners are widely reported to be in talks with, ahead of his side’s Premier League opener against Wolves.
Real Sociedad midfielder Merino has less than a year remaining on his contract and would be free to speak to clubs about a free transfer in January, with The Times reporting Arsenal are ready to pay £29.8 million for him now.
“You know I cannot talk about any other player,” Arteta replied when Merino was mentioned, preferring to maintain his focus on a squad some are tipping to win the title after finishing second to Manchester City in 2023-24.
“Does Mikel like Mikel?” 😆
Mikel Arteta won’t comment on rumours that Arsenal are interested in midfielder Mikel Merino 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/5XyJ3X9wsP
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 16, 2024
📰 Table Of Contents
Arsenal transfers: Merino in?
Defender Riccardo Calafiori has joined Arsenal for a fee of around £42m, while midfielder Emile Smith Rowe left for Fulham for £34m.
Despite no out-and-out forward reaching double figures for the club last season, Arteta said Arsenal “have great strikers already”.
“Before the season, we had two objectives,” he reflected. “The main one was to make sure that we are very much in love with our players and find ways to improve them, because that’s the main thing.
“Then [if] there are are certain opportunities in the market to improve the squad, we have to look at that. That’s what we are trying to do.
Lift off in N5 🚀
Our last 1️⃣1️⃣ opening Premier League goals at Emirates Stadium
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 16, 2024
“We are really excited. We have been missing the competition for many weeks – too long for us. We are so willing to start, really enthusiastic about it.
“We had a really challenging pre-season but managed to adapt and it was a great challenge for everybody. Playing in different conditions, we took it as an opportunity and a good challenge. The team has looked really sharp, looked at it and desperate to play.”
Arsenal vs Wolves team news
Arteta said Arsenal were “really short” of defenders in 2023-24 but has Jurrien Timber, who missed almost the entirety of the season with a knee injury, in contention again.
Full-backs Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney remain out through injury against a Wolves side who have scored twice in the last six editions of the fixture.
Arsenal have won all six of those games on a run stretching back to February 2021, scoring 14 times along the way.
