English Premier League (EPL) side Arsenal coached by Mikel Arteta is set to offer combative Spain and Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino a ‘contract of a lifetime’.
This was made known in a recent report published by Mundo Deportivo which disclosed that Arsenal have emerged as favourites to land the player in the summer transfer window.
However, Aston Villa, a Premier League team that is also eager to acquire the 28-year-old to its roster, will compete with Arsenal for the player, the report stated.
This comes days after Mikel Arteta, explained what the North London club needs to do to upstage Manchester City next season.
The Spanish coach who opened up in an interview with the club’s official website said that his players must continue doing the things they are doing consistently to be at the top.
Born and raised in San Sebastián, Arteta who began his senior club career at Barcelona in 1999, also informed that he is weighing up where best to strengthen his squad.
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He said; “The players who arrive first are going to set the tone for the ones that are coming back later because we have four different groups coming at different stages in pre-season and they have to feel that.
“There’s not a lot I can tell them. They know. They know that they are really good and they were good enough to win it, but there are certain margins and certain things that sometimes are not tangible that are necessary to win.
“For me, the best thing is when they come here on the first day and when they look at us, when they see the attitude and when they see the preparation when they hear the words that we are using to start the preparation for this season, then they go ‘wow, this is going up a level again, so what we did last season is not going to be enough. If I want to play and I want to be competing in this team, I’m going to have to do something extra’.
“There are margins everywhere, and some of them can be tiny but can have a huge impact, but others are really big. First of all, we have to continue to do all the right things that we are doing consistently, and if we can, do them a bit better. That’s the first part. Then the other one is ok, what are the other areas we can still improve and go for them and simplify everything we do efficiently?
“Some people say you have to work a little bit more efficiently, I think we are going to try to work harder and be more efficient. That’s the objective.” Mikel noted.
