Midfielder · #23
Mikel Merino
AGE30
BORN22 Jun 1996
HEIGHT189 cm
WEIGHT83 kg
NATIONALITYSpain
BIRTHPLACEPamplona, Spain
SEASONS9
CAREER
Season by season
| SEASON | CLUB | COMP | APPS | MIN | GOALS | AST | RTG | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 |  Spain | World Cup | 8 | 210 | 2 | 0 | 6.88 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026-27 |  Arsenal | Premier League | 6 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 6.68 | 1 | 0 |
| 2026-27 | Spain | UEFA Nations League | 4 | 109 | 3 | 1 | 7.28 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026-27 | Spain | Friendlies | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 6.90 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026-27 | Arsenal | UEFA Champions League | 2 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 6.72 | 1 | 0 |
| 2026-27 | Arsenal | League Cup | 1 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 7.84 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Arsenal | Premier League | 22 | 1035 | 4 | 3 | 6.86 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Arsenal | UEFA Champions League | 7 | 518 | 2 | 0 | 6.96 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Arsenal | League Cup | 4 | 273 | 0 | 0 | 6.65 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Arsenal | Emirates Cup | 1 | 90 | – | 0 | 6.20 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Arsenal | Friendlies Clubs | 1 | 90 | – | 0 | 6.20 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Arsenal | FA Cup | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 7.00 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Arsenal | Premier League | 28 | 1581 | 7 | 2 | 7.04 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Arsenal | UEFA Champions League | 13 | 817 | 2 | 3 | 7.18 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Spain | Euro Championship | 7 | 177 | 1 | 0 | 7.06 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Spain | World Cup - Qualification Europe | 6 | 467 | 6 | 0 | 8.00 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Spain | UEFA Nations League | 5 | 357 | 2 | 0 | 7.07 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Arsenal | League Cup | 3 | 165 | 0 | 0 | 7.10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Spain | Friendlies | 2 | 119 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Arsenal | FA Cup | 1 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 7.30 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023-24 |  Real Sociedad | La Liga | 32 | 2484 | 5 | 3 | 7.18 | 10 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | Real Sociedad | UEFA Champions League | 7 | 630 | 2 | 1 | 7.48 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | Real Sociedad | Copa del Rey | 6 | 485 | 1 | 1 | 7.70 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | Spain | Euro Championship - Qualification | 6 | 373 | 1 | 1 | 7.15 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | Real Sociedad | Friendlies Clubs | 1 | 46 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2022-23 | Real Sociedad | La Liga | 33 | 2499 | 2 | 9 | 7.10 | 6 | 1 |
| 2022-23 | Real Sociedad | UEFA Europa League | 7 | 544 | 0 | – | 7.09 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022-23 | Real Sociedad | Copa del Rey | 3 | 129 | 1 | – | 6.90 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022-23 | Spain | UEFA Nations League | 2 | 116 | – | – | 6.95 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-22 | Real Sociedad | La Liga | 34 | 2896 | 3 | 2 | 7.03 | 8 | 0 |
| 2021-22 | Real Sociedad | UEFA Europa League | 6 | 516 | 1 | – | 7.12 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021-22 | Real Sociedad | Copa del Rey | 3 | 270 | 0 | – | 7.13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | Real Sociedad | La Liga | 26 | 2157 | 2 | 4 | 7.12 | 5 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | Real Sociedad | UEFA Europa League | 8 | 695 | 0 | 2 | 7.34 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | Spain | UEFA Nations League | 7 | 360 | 0 | 1 | 7.07 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020-21 |  Spain U23 | Olympics Men | 5 | 350 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | Spain | World Cup - Qualification Europe | 3 | 50 | 0 | 1 | 6.63 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | Real Sociedad | Copa del Rey | 1 | 120 | 0 | – | 6.30 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | Spain | Friendlies | 1 | 44 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-20 | Real Sociedad | La Liga | 36 | 3143 | 5 | 1 | 7.05 | 9 | 0 |
| 2019-20 |  Spain U21 | UEFA U21 Championship | 10 | 615 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| 2019-20 | Real Sociedad | Copa del Rey | 7 | 559 | 1 | – | 7.17 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018-19 | Real Sociedad | La Liga | 29 | 2060 | 3 | 3 | 6.76 | 9 | 0 |
| 2018-19 | Real Sociedad | Copa del Rey | 3 | 141 | 1 | – | 6.60 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 400 | 27,786 | 60 | 38 |
FORM
Recent matches
| MATCH | MIN | RTG | G | A | SH | KP | TKL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @ Nottingham Forest W 1-018 Oct 2026 · Premier League | 24 | 7.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| vs Leeds W 2-110 Oct 2026 · Premier League | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| @ Brighton L 0-319 Sept 2026 · Premier League | 30 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| @ Sunderland W 2-012 Sept 2026 · Premier League | 5 | 6.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| @ Napoli W 1-09 Sept 2026 · UEFA Champions League | 65 | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| @ Aston Villa W 1-031 Aug 2026 · Premier League | 19 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| vs Coventry W 3-021 Aug 2026 · Premier League | 14 | 6.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
TRANSFERS
Moves & transfer history
- Real Sociedad → Arsenal27 Aug 2024€ 32M
- Newcastle → Real Sociedad12 Jul 2018€ 12M
Borussia Dortmund → Newcastle3 Jan 2018€ 7M- Borussia Dortmund → Newcastle28 Jul 2017LOAN
Osasuna → Borussia Dortmund1 Jul 2016€ 3.8M
AVAILABILITY
Injury & absence history
- Knock23 Apr 2025 → 28 Apr 2025
- Knee Injury30 Nov 2024 → 3 Dec 2024
- Concussion7 Nov 2024 → 9 Nov 2024
- Shoulder Injury29 Aug 2024 → 30 Sept 2024
- Hamstring18 Jan 2023 → 9 Feb 2023
- Calf Injury26 Nov 2021 → 17 Dec 2021
- Back Injury8 Apr 2021 → 3 Jun 2021
- Calf/Shin Injury1 Feb 2020 → 5 Feb 2020
- Thigh Injury30 Sept 2018 → 23 Nov 2018
- Knock25 Apr 2018 → 4 May 2018
HONOURS
Trophies won
2× WINNEREmirates Cup2025
2× WINNERUEFA European Championship2024
2× WINNERUEFA Nations League2022/2024
2× WINNERCopa del Rey2019/2021
2× WINNERUEFA U21 Championship2017/2019
2× WINNERDFB Pokal2016/2017
2× WINNERUEFA U19 Championship2014/2015
Also 11 runner-up finishes.