Arsenal's eyes are glued to the World Cup as Mikel Arteta keeps a close eye on potential transfer targets. The tournament, set to begin on Thursday, features a record-breaking 48 nations competing for the coveted trophy. Among the representatives from the red half of north London are Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Mikel Merino. Several players that Arteta is keen to bring into his reigning Premier League-winning squad are also set to feature.
Arteta will be watching the United States, Canada, and Mexico tournament with great interest as he looks to bolster his squad ahead of the 2026/27 season in August. This comes as Lamine Yamal's mother highlighted Mikel Merino as her most underrated player during a conversation with her superstar son. The Barcelona youngster, who is representing Spain alongside Merino at the World Cup, spotlighted some lesser-celebrated players on his YouTube channel.
Yamal put forward Ferran Torres, Thomas Muller, and Gerard Martin as his underrated picks before inviting his mother's opinion. She responded: 'Merino from Arsenal. I'm a big fan of Merino.' Merino has proven an influential figure for both club and country, netting 10 goals in 42 caps for Spain and contributing 23 goal involvements across 78 Arsenal appearances.
In other transfer news, Julian Alvarez's representative Fernando Hidalgo has confirmed that Real Madrid have made no approach for his client. The Atlético Madrid striker has emerged as one of the most coveted players in the transfer market, with Arsenal, Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain all said to be keen. Despite reports circulating in Spain suggesting otherwise, Hidalgo has told 365Scores that no formal offer has been tabled for Alvarez. He said: 'We have no information on the matter, and no one has contacted us about it.'
Barcelona are already reported to have submitted a bid for the Argentina international, while Arsenal's interest in Alvarez stretches back to his days at Manchester City. The striker has declined to discuss his future, though he admitted several months ago that he could not guarantee he would be at Atletico next season. This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+, and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
