Arsenal have endured a very busy last 24 hours with a departure for Fabio Vieira confirmed and the announcement of Mikel Merino’s arrival following shortly after. The Spain international had been at the centre of talks between Arsenal and Real Sociedad over the last few months with a huge breakthrough made last week.
A £31.7million (€37.5m) package deal was soon agreed upon which saw the Gunners officially announce his arrival on Tuesday. A club statement was also released for another midfield switch with Fabio Vieira re-joining former club Porto on a season-long loan.
Those two deals took Arsenal’s summer transfer moves up to eight with David Raya, Tommy Setford and Riccardo Calafiori also joining on permanent deals. As for outgoings, Emile Smith Rowe has joined Fulham with Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares each sealing loan moves.
Though Edu has carefully managed the club’s finances this summer, in line with their new strategy, at least one more arrival could be on the way. After finally strengthening in a position that was their priority, the Gunners could turn their attention onto signing a new winger with Simon Adingra and Kingsley Coman among the possible options.
