Arsenal have confirmed new signing Mikel Merino’s squad number.

The Spain midfielder finally completed his long-awaited move from Real Sociedad to north London on Tuesday afternoon following weeks of negotiations between the two clubs.

Merino has signed an initial four-year contract at the Emirates Stadium that includes the option for a further 12 months and joins for an initial fee of £27.4million that could rise as high as £31.6m with add-ons.

The 28-year-old could make his Gunners debut on home soil on Saturday, when Mikel Arteta’s side host in-form Brighton in a bid to continue their 100 per cent start to the new Premier League campaign following early wins over Wolves and Aston Villa to kick off their latest title bid.

Merino has been handed the No23 shirt by Arsenal, having previously worn No8 for Sociedad and donned the No6 for Spain earlier this summer during their winning run at Euro 2024 that culminated in victory over England in Berlin.

Arsenal’s No23 was last worn by fellow midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, who was sent out for another loan spell with LaLiga outfit Sevilla earlier this summer after similar stints with Crystal Palace and Luton.

It has also been worn by the likes of David Luiz, Danny Welbeck, Nicklas Bendtner and Andrey Arshavin over the years, as well as club legends such as Sol Campbell and Ray Parlour.

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