Mikel Merino's potential shirt numbers at Arsenal
- Arsenal on verge of signing Spain international Mikel Merino
- Midfielder could soon make switch from Real Sociedad
- Current number worn by Gunners captain Martin Odegaard
By Sean Walsh
Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad.
The Gunners have had a slow-burn transfer window to this point, with defender Riccardo Calafiori the only other major addition to Mikel Arteta's ranks from last season.
90min first revealed in July that Arsenal would go after Merino once Calafiori was over the line, and after a long month of negotiations, they are about to land their man.
But what shirt number could Merino wear in north London?
Here are the options available to him and the clues which may point to his preference.
Mikel Merino shirt number history
During Merino's club career to date, he has taken on four different numbers.
When first breaking through at Osasuna as a spritely youngster, he was initially handed the 32 shirt. But after quickly making an impression in Pamplona, he was upgrade to the number 8.
Merino's rapid development caught the attention of Borussia Dortmund, who snapped him up in 2016. During one season at Signal Iduna Park, he wore the number 24.
One year at Dortmund was followed by one year at Newcastle United, with Merino being assigned 23 during his stay on Tyneside.
For the last six years, Merino has worn the number 8 for Real Sociedad.
Though there's been little variety to Merino's numbers at club level, the same cannot be said of his time in the Spanish national setup.
At youth level, Merino wore all of 5, 6, 8, 14, 15 and 16. During his time in the senior side, he has adorned 17, 20 and 22, though he has almost exclusively taken on 6 in recent years, including this summer's Euro 2024.
Arsenal available shirt numbers
Remarkably, there aren't currently any single-digit shirts available to Merino heading into the last few days of the transfer window.
The lowest number vacant is 10, which was taken by Emile Smith Rowe prior to his move to Fulham.
Arsenal's other available numbers are 13, 16, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34 through to 40, and 42 upwards.
Eddie Nketiah is in talks over a switch to Nottingham Forest, and should that go through, 14 would also be open.
Premier League clubs have until the start of September to register their finalised squad numbers for the season.
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