Arsenal have finally agreed a fee with Real Sociedad for European Championship winner Mikel Merino.
The 28-year-old will bolster the Gunners’ midfield options as well as providing some experience. The only questions is which digit(s) he will have on his back and shorts.
While he wore 6 as Spain went all the way in Germany, he has worn 8 throughout his time at San Sebastián.
For many Arsenal fans, that would be the ideal number for him to don in North London – the second Mikel to do so, after manager Arteta – but to do so would mean captain Martin Ødegaard shifting – the 10 vacated by Emile Smith Rowe would be ideal.
We would love to be wrong but our gut feeling is that such a move would have happened before the season started – doing so now would involve refunding a lot of fans with Ødegaard 8 on the backs of their new shirts.
Perhaps Merino will slot straight into 10? It doesn’t look like a natural fit but, given that he is expected to play in the ‘left 8’ role for Arsenal, it would make some sense – and allow them to field a perfectly laid out front five, as happened occasionally last season.
With Arsenal still said to be on the lookout for another attacking player, it’s possibly that 10 is being reserved for such a signing. Perhaps then Merino could take one of two available numbers that he has worn in the past, which are reversals of each other.
Starting out at Osasuna in 2014-15, he wore number 32 but was able to be re-registered as 8 midway through the season. He later moved to Borussia Dortmund, where he wore 24 but Reiss Nelson still has that for Arsenal.
Before returning to Spain with Sociedad, he had a brief spell at Newcastle United, for whom he carried 23. Both 23 and 32 are currently empty at the Emirates.
There is a possibility that he might wear 13, free since goalkeeper Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson left but one would expect that any potential new arrival, to replace Aaron Ramsdale if he leaves, would take that. Alex Hleb remains the only outfield to wear 13 for Arsenal in the squad-numbers era.
And one final option is a number he has not worn during his career but which is one that is readily associated with central midfielders – 16.
At Arsenal, Stephen Hughes, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey all wore it while further afield it has been used to good effect by Roy Keane, Michael Carrick, Daniele De Rossi (partly a tribute to Keane) and Sergio Busquets, among others.
It has the 6 of his Spain number and is 8 doubled – don’t rule it out.
