Arsenal are close to a deal to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino for around €30m, according to reports.

Relevo journalist Matteo Moretto broke the news on Wednesday night that Arsenal were “one step away” from the signing of Mikel Merino.

Moretto wrote that Arsenal had presented a verbal offer of €30m (£25.3m) plus bonuses for Merino, and an agreement with Real Sociedad was close. As for the player, he’d already said yes to the Gunners.

Fabrizio Romano then confirmed that an agreement is in place on personal terms, and a verbal agreement on a fee is getting closer too.

Moretto went one step further later in the evening, writing for Relevo that Arsenal and Real Sociedad had reached an agreement for a €30m fee plus bonuses. Though this is yet to be corroborated by other sources.

Back in the English media, Ryan Taylor reports for the Mirror that Arsenal are in the process of finalising the £25m signing of Merino, with the Gunners’ bid considered acceptable.

Again, Taylor added that personal terms have already been agreed, and the player is excited by the prospect of joining Arsenal and returning to the Premier League.

If all goes well, documents should be exchanged for the signing by the end of the week, once the payment structure and add-ons have been finalised.

Merino spent the summer with Spain at Euro 2024 as they won the tournament, so he’s been on his holidays for the last couple of weeks.

The midfielder’s break will officially end on Monday, August 5th, so ideally Arsenal would have a deal done by then so he can link up with his new teammates instead of returning to Sociedad.

Merino would be Arsenal’s fifth summer signing, having brought in David Raya from Brentford, Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna, and young goalkeepers Tommy Setford and Lucas Nygaard so far.