TOON BARMY
Arsenal brutally trolled by Newcastle fans with Gunners set to sign ‘player we replaced with Jeff Hendrick’
Gunners also eyeing reinforcements in another area
ARSENAL have been trolled by Newcastle fans as they attempt to sign former Toon man Mikel Merino.
The Real Sociedad star, 28, is Mikel Arteta’s top target following the arrival of Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori.
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And the Gunners are closing in on a move after transfer chief Edu jetted to Spain to wrap up a deal.
Merino is in the final year of his Sociedad contract, with personal terms expected to be a formality once a fee is struck.
However, Arsenal have come under fire from Newcastle fans for their attempts to sign Merino.
The Euro 2024 winner spent one year at St James Park in the 2017/18 season following a move from Borussia Dortmund.
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Merino scored once in 25 appearances as he failed to make an impression in the north east.
And Newcastle supporters trolled Arsenal for chasing a player they themselves had dumped quickly, especially as Arteta’s previous top target had been Toon superstar Bruno Guimaraes.
One fan said: “Arsenal told us they were taking Bruno only to end up struggling to get money to buy a player we replaced with Jeff Hendrick.”
Another declared: “Got to be honest, don’t even remember Merino when he was here.”
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One noted: “Merino couldn’t hack it at Newcastle.”
Another added: “Downgraded badly with Merino the Newcastle reject.”
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Despite his troubles at St James’ Park, Merino rebuilt his reputation during six fine seasons with Sociedad.
He scored 27 goals in 242 games as the club eventually sealed a sixth-place finish last season — having come fourth the year before.
And Merino’s prowess has also seen him become a regular for Spain, with the ace netting a 119th winner in the Euro quarter-final victory over Germany while also featuring in the final win against England.
Once his signing is complete, Arsenal could yet move for a striker.
Ivan Toney remains on their shortlist.
But any deal could rely on the Gunners offloading Eddie Nketiah first.
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Chelsea are on the verge of landing £85million Napoli star Victor Osimhen — in an extraordinary player-swap deal.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher is in transfer limbo, with the Chelsea midfielder's proposed £33.7million move to Atletico Madrid in huge doubt.
Elsewhere, Newcastle have reportedly made a third bid for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi.
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