What shirt number will Mikel Merino get at Arsenal? | OneFootball

Arsenal are close to signing Mikel Merino in a deal expected to be in the region of €35m.

The 28-year-old Euro winner will arrive as a first-team player and is likely to go into the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

So, when he completes his move to join Arsenal, what shirt number is he likely to get?

STUTTGART, GERMANY – JULY 05: Mikel Merino of Spain celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final match between Spain and Germany at Stuttgart Arena on July 05, 2024 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

When Merino began his career with Osasuna, he started with the number 32 before moving to 8 in 2014/15, a number he kept until he moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2016 for €3.75m.

There, he was given the 24.

After a season in Germany, Merino was off to Newcastle, where he was handed the 23 shirt, a number he could end up with again at Arsenal.

At Real Sociedad, Merino has worn the number 8 since he joined in 2018 for €12m from Newcastle, a year after he turned up in the Premier League.

At Arsenal, of course, Martin Odegaard wears the number 8, so that is not available. There was talk that Odegaard would move to his more favoured 10 after Emile Smith Rowe was sold to Fulham, but if he was going to do that, it seems likely he would have done so before the season started.

Smith Rowe’s vacant 10 is the lowest first-team squad number available which could go to Merino, although it wouldn’t be an ideal fit.

After that, 13 is free (but will likely go to Joan Garcia should Arsenal sell Aaron Ramsdale).

14 is likely to become available should any club meet Arsenal’s £30m price tag for Eddie Nketiah, as could 15 with Jakub Kiwior‘s future at the club far from certain and Reiss Nelson‘s 23, but none of those moves seem like they will be anywhere close to completion by the time Merino arrives in London.

16 and 23, which Merino wore with the Magpies, are also free, so it seems like it will be between the 10 and the 23.