Mikel Merino

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Merino and the second or maternal family name is Zazón.

Mikel Merino
File:1 mikel merino arsenal 2025 (cropped).jpg
Mikel Merino playing for Arsenal in 2025
Personal information
Full name Mikel Merino Zazón[1]
Date of birth (1996-06-22) 22 June 1996 (age 30)[2]
Place of birth Pamplona, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 23
Youth career
Amigó
Osasuna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Osasuna B 5 (0)
2014–2016 Osasuna 63 (5)
2016–2017 Borussia Dortmund 8 (0)
2017 → Newcastle United (loan) 7 (0)
2017–2018 Newcastle United 17 (1)
2018–2024 Real Sociedad 190 (20)
2024– Arsenal 44 (10)
International career‡
2014–2015 Spain U19 12 (1)
2016–2019 Spain U21 20 (4)
2021 Spain Olympic 6 (1)
2020– Spain 41 (10)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain
UEFA European Championship
Winner 2024 Germany Team
UEFA Nations League
Winner 2023 Netherlands Team
Runner-up 2021 Italy Team
Runner-up 2025 Germany Team
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 2019 Italy Team
Runner-up 2017 Poland Team
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winner 2015 Greece Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:08, 20 December 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:44, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

Mikel Merino Zazón (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmikel meˈɾino]; born 22 June 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as a midfielder and occasionally as a striker for Premier League club Arsenal and the Spain national team.

He began his career with Osasuna, and had short spells at Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United before signing for Real Sociedad in 2018, winning the 2019–20 Copa del Rey with the club while totalling 242 appearances and 27 goals.[4] In August 2024, he joined Premier League side Arsenal.

Merino represented Spain in two European Under-21 Championships, winning the 2019 edition. He made his senior debut in 2020, being selected for Euro 2024 and winning the tournament.

Club career

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Osasuna

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Born in Pamplona, Navarre,[2] Merino began his career with Amigó, later moving to Osasuna.[5] He made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2013–14 season, in the Tercera División.[5]

On 23 August 2014, Merino made his first competitive appearance with the first team, starting in a 2–0 home win against Barcelona B in the Segunda División.[6] He scored his first professional goal on 21 December, the winner in a 2–1 away victory over Las Palmas.[7]

Merino was promoted to the main squad on 31 January 2015, being given the number 8 jersey.[8] He was a regular starter in his first year, helping them to narrowly avoid relegation.[9]

In the 2015–16 campaign, Merino scored four goals from 34 appearances as Osasuna finished sixth and reached the promotion play-offs.[10] In that stage's first round, he netted a brace in a 3–1 home win against Gimnàstic de Tarragona,[11] and added another goal in the second leg (3–2 victory).[12]

Borussia Dortmund

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On 15 February 2016, Merino signed a five-year deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, which was made effective on 1 July.[13] His first league appearance occurred on 14 October, when he played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Hertha BSC.[14]

Newcastle United

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In July 2017, Merino joined Newcastle United on a season-long loan; the Premier League side agreed to a clause obligating them to sign the player permanently, based on a number of appearances.[15][16] On 13 October, this was invoked, and he agreed to a five-year contract.[17]

Merino made 25 competitive appearances for the Magpies.[18] He scored his only goal with a late header in a 1–0 win over Crystal Palace at St James' Park on 21 October 2017,[19] also providing a sole assist.[18]

Real Sociedad

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File:Miker Merino 2018 (cropped).jpg
Merino with Real Sociedad in 2018

Merino returned to Spain on 12 July 2018, signing a five-year deal with Real Sociedad for an undisclosed fee[20] reported to be €12 million.[21] His first match in La Liga took place on 18 August when he played 59 minutes in a 2–1 win against hosts Villarreal,[22] and his first goal on 21 September won the game at Huesca.[23] Despite struggling initially to adapt to his new team, also dealing with some injury problems, he eventually became a starter,[24][25] scoring four times in 32 fixtures in his first season.[26]

On 7 March 2020, Merino wore the captain's armband for the first time in a 1–0 league defeat away to Barcelona.[27][28] In July, he renewed his contract until 2025.[29]

On 3 April 2021, Merino won his first title after playing the full 90 minutes of the 2020 Copa del Rey final – delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic – against Athletic Bilbao, assisting Portu who was brought down in the box at the hour mark; Mikel Oyarzabal converted from the spot for the only goal at the Estadio de La Cartuja, and Merino was named player of the match.[30][31]

In the 2023–24 campaign, Merino won the most duels for possession in Europe's top leagues at 326.[32]

Arsenal

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Merino returned to the English top division on 27 August 2024, signing a four-year deal at Arsenal for a reported fee of £31.6m.[33][34] In his first training session, he fractured his shoulder in a collision with Gabriel Magalhães and was ruled out for several weeks.[35] He featured in his first match on 1 October, as a substitute in the 2–0 home win against Paris Saint-Germain in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.[36] He scored his first league goal 26 days later, heading home from a free kick in a 2–2 home draw with Liverpool.[37]

On 15 February 2025, Merino replaced Raheem Sterling in the 69th minute of the league fixture at Leicester City; as the habitual starter at centre-forward, Kai Havertz, had suffered a hamstring injury in training a week earlier, he was slotted into Havertz's position,[38][39] going on to score both goals in the 2–0 victory.[40] On 8 April, having again featured as a striker, he closed the 3–0 defeat of Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium in the Champions League quarter-finals' first leg.[41] In his first season, he was regularly deployed in both positions.[42][43][44]

On 28 September 2025, Merino scored his first goal of the new campaign in a 2–1 away win over his former employers Newcastle, coming off the bench to spark a late comeback in the final ten minutes.[45] With summer signing Viktor Gyökeres out with a hamstring injury, he assumed his makeshift striker role once again in late November matches against Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.[46][47][48][49][50]

International career

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File:Mikel Merino Spain national team (cropped).jpg
Merino with Spain in 2020

Merino was part of the Spain under-19 team which won the 2015 UEFA European Championship in Greece. He scored their first goal of the tournament, opening a 3–0 win over holders Germany at the AEL FC Arena in Larissa.[51]

On 20 August 2020, Merino received his first call up to the senior side, for the initial two matches of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League against Germany and Ukraine.[52] He earned his first cap against the former on 3 September by replacing Sergio Busquets early into the second half of a 1–1 draw.[53] He scored his first goal on 12 September 2023, the second in an eventual 6–0 rout of Cyprus in a qualifier for UEFA Euro 2024 held in Granada.[54]

Merino was included in the squad for the Euro 2024 finals.[55] In the quarter-final against Germany in Stuttgart, he scored a header from a cross by Dani Olmo in the 119th minute to secure his nation a spot in the semi-finals with a 2–1 win;[56] his celebration after the goal (running around the corner flag) mirrored that of his father after he had done the same for Osasuna in a UEFA Cup fixture at the same stadium in 1991.[57] He also featured in Spain's win in the final where they defeated England 2–1, achieving a continental record of four European championships,[58] and in the process became one of 12 players who won both youth and senior Euro titles, alongside his teammates Nacho, Ferran Torres, Álvaro Morata and Rodri.[59]

On 7 September 2025, Merino scored his first international hat-trick, in a 6–0 away victory over Turkey in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[60] On 14 October, in the same stage, he reached ten goals for his country by netting a brace in the 4–0 defeat of Bulgaria in Valladolid.[61][62]

Personal life

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Merino's father, Ángel Miguel, was also a footballer. His career was also associated with Osasuna, as both a player and manager.[63]

On 1 June 2024, Merino married model Lola Liberal in Pamplona.[64][65]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 20 December 2025[66]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Osasuna B 2013–14 Tercera División 5 0 — — — — 5 0
Osasuna 2014–15 Segunda División 29 1 0 0 — — — 29 1
2015–16 Segunda División 34 4 0 0 — — 4[c] 3 38 7
Total 63 5 0 0 — — 4 3 67 8
Borussia Dortmund 2016–17 Bundesliga 8 0 1 0 — 0 0 0 0 9 0
Newcastle United (loan) 2017–18 Premier League 7 0 0 0 0 0 — — 7 0
Newcastle United Premier League 17 1 1 0 — — — 18 1
Total 24 1 1 0 0 0 — — 25 1
Real Sociedad 2018–19 La Liga 29 3 3 1 — — — 32 4
2019–20 La Liga 36 5 7[d] 1 — — — 43 6
2020–21 La Liga 26 2 1 0 — 8[e] 0 1[f] 0 36 2
2021–22 La Liga 34 3 3 0 — 6[e] 1 — 43 4
2022–23 La Liga 33 2 3 1 — 7[e] 0 — 43 3
2023–24 La Liga 32 5 6 1 — 7[g] 2 — 45 8
Total 190 20 23 4 — 28 3 1 0 242 27
Arsenal 2024–25 Premier League 28 7 1 0 3 0 12[g] 2 — 44 9
2025–26 Premier League 16 3 0 0 2 0 6[g] 2 — 24 5
Total 44 10 1 0 5 0 18 4 — 68 14
Career total 334 36 26 4 5 0 46 7 5 3 416 50
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup, Copa del Rey
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in Segunda División play-offs
  4. ^ Includes appearance in 2020 Copa del Rey final (played in 2021)
  5. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearance in Supercopa de España
  7. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

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As of match played 18 November 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year[67]
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2020 6 0
2021 5 0
2023 8 1
2024 12 1
2025 10 8
Total 41 10
As of match played 14 October 2025
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Merino goal.
List of international goals scored by Mikel Merino
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition[67]
1 12 September 2023 Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain 17 File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus 2–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
2 5 July 2024 MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany 26 File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 2–1 2–1 (a.e.t.) UEFA Euro 2024
3 20 March 2025 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands 32 File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 2–2 2–2 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
4 5 June 2025 MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany 34 File:Flag of France.svg France 2–0 5–4 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals
5 4 September 2025 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria 36  Bulgaria 3–0 3–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 7 September 2025 Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, Konya, Turkey 37  Turkey 2–0 6–0
7 3–0
8 5–0
9 14 October 2025 José Zorrilla Stadium, Valladolid, Spain 39  Bulgaria 1–0 4–0
10 2–0

Honours

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Borussia Dortmund

Real Sociedad

Spain U19

Spain U21

Spain Olympic

Spain

Individual

References

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  66. ^ a b Mikel Merino at SoccerwayLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  67. ^ a b Mikel Merino at EU-Football.info
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