Who has been the best Premier League signing of the summer of 2024?
Merino top signing (Credit – Arsenal.com)
There are plenty of worthy candidates. Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic have helped transform Nottingham Forest from relegation battlers to Champions League contenders, whilst Maxence Lacroix and Ismaila Sarr have proven integral in Crystal Palace securing their first-ever major trophy. Dean Huijsen has already earned Bournemouth a massive payout, whilst Liam Delap looks set to do the same for Ipswich Town.
However, one player who has undoubtedly emerged as one of the best signings of the summer is Mikel Merino.
After excelling in Spain’s Euro 2024 conquest, Merino made the move to Arsenal, departing Real Sociedad for a fee of £31.6 million and penning a four-year deal. However, in his first training session with his new side, he collided with Gabriel Magalhaes and fractured his shoulder, causing him to spend the first few weeks of the campaign on the sidelines.
Shone at Euro 24
As time went by, many Arsenal fans began to question: why did Arsenal decide to splurge on a central midfielder when they already had Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Declan Rice? Why not invest in a proven center forward?
These concerns only heightened as Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz went down with season-ending injuries. Merino, a box-to-box midfielder who had made just one goal contribution for Arsenal in 2024 (a goal vs. Liverpool), was surely not going to be the answer to their predicament at the #9 position. Or was he?
The Spaniard kicked off the new year with a goal at Brentford and an assist at Brighton before being thrust into the spotlight as their makeshift #9. Despite having no natural training in this position, Merino has seamlessly transitioned into an attacking role, bagging a brace off the bench at Leicester before following that up with goals against PSV, Chelsea, Fulham, Real Madrid and Liverpool.
With no natural center forward available, Merino has stepped up and delivered with 9 goals and 5 assists in 43 appearances. But the numbers don’t quite do justice to Merino’s importance — he’s excelled at dropping deep and driving forward with the ball, combining with his attacking teammates and deftly rotating positions, and floating in measured crosses into the box.
After plying his trade in the Bundesliga, LaLiga and Premier League, Merino has built up an impressive physical build that has enabled him to hold his own in aerial and ground duels and help out in other defensive tasks. He’s winning 2.7 ground duels per 90 (46% success rate) and 2.2 aerial duels per 90 (51%), whilst he’s also making 3.0 recoveries per game, 1.6 tackles per game, and 0.8 clearances per game. He has emerged as one of the first names on Mikel Arteta’s team sheet and proven essential in their return to the Champions League semifinals, and he’s only going to get better.
Credit Arsenal.com
Merino isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and rush back in order to win a second ball or get stuck in and lunge in on an onrushing opponent — above all, he’s someone who’s never standing still. Whether that’s making intelligent runs in and around the box or attracting the attention of two opponents and holding up possession before unleashing his teammate in space, Merino is a multifaceted weapon who has delivered in heaps and bounds this season.
“I’ve always thought of Merino as more of a box-to-box player, but his technical skills have always come through,” stated ESPN commentator Derek Rae. “I’ve always liked him as a player…I remember watching him earlier in his career in LaLiga and Bundesliga, and I think he’s someone who can surprise you. In this case, by having the right coach and being at the right club, a player like that can can prosper. He’s been terrific for Arsenal, and he’s been a very good player for Spain as well.”
Arsenal remain keen on signing a center forward this summer, with Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak being reportedly eyed up by the club’s new sporting director Andrea Berta. After yet another trophyless campaign under Arteta, Arsenal will have surely learned from last summer’s mistakes and splurge the funds on a top-notch center forward. But if they do, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Merino is out of the picture.
A player of his technical calibre , physical prowess, and wise decision-making doesn’t come around often: he’s someone who can make an impact either as a centre forward or as a box-to-box midfielder. Even with his former Real Sociedad teammate Martin Zubimendi set to join, and with Odegaard and Rice also competing for supremacy in midfield, there’s reason to believe that Merino can insert himself into the starting eleven next season as a midfielder.
It’s never easy to be the son of a famous footballer — just ask Enzo Zidane or Brooklyn Beckham or Anthony Hudson. However, Merino has proven that he has the mettle to not only match his father’s legacy, but surpass it.
His dad Ángel scored 26 goals in 293 LaLiga appearances for various mid-table clubs like Las Palmas and Celta de Vigo, but he never managed to represent Spain, much less win silverware. Merino, meanwhile, has already won a U-19 Euros and a U-21 Euros with Spain as well as a silver medal at the Summer Olympics and a Euros title and a Nations League title.
What will 25/26 hold? (Credit Arsenal.com)
At 28 years of age, Merino has already won the Copa del Rey with Real Sociedad and the DFB-Pokal with Borussia Dortmund…but can he finally win something with Arsenal? We’ll have to wait until 2026 to find out.
Chief editor of Breaking The Lines, and writer for Coaches’ Voice, PSG Talk, BetUSTV, FotMob and many more….
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