Arsenal have signed Mikel Merino - but Mikel Arteta has left a clear clue for his squad this season in revealing his new signing
(Image credit: Future)
Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Mikel Merino. But that's not all that Mikel Arteta has revealed in the announcement video for his fellow Basque.
The Gunners are going low-key with their transfer reveals this time around. For the second time in a row, a new signing has been revealed via a clip of manager Arteta addressing the squad, telling them all that the player they've been chasing is officially here.
In this clip, Merino is then given the floor to speak to his team-mates. But fans have noticed a key detail in the video.
Mikel Merino has arrived at Sobha Realty Training Centre (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Imagess)
Arteta has long been an advocate of relationships on the pitch. The Arsenal manager has spoken before about the righthand side of his team and how much Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka get along off the pitch – while Gabriel Martinelli's friendship with Fabio Vieira has been referenced, too.
“I think relationships build in teams naturally,” Arteta told football.london in 2023. “[Martinelli] has even more chemistry with Fabio when you see them play.”
VIDEO Why Arsenal Wanted Mikel Merino So Badly
Martinelli, however, is not in particularly great form: the Brazilian endured another difficult afternoon away to Aston Villa last weekend. On an unrelated note, Vieira has left for Porto on loan.
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Ever a fan of an innovative way to spark something from his players, Arteta has addressed this, with one fan noticing on X (formerly Twitter) that the Basque boss sat Martinelli down next to Merino. Is he trying to build a little rapport between the two?
Mikel Arteta looks to be addressing Martinelli's struggles (Image credit: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
“Arteta really is a psycho,” @trickyredsfc posted. “He’s forced these two together like schoolchildren to get that left-hand side ticking.”
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
