The pair played together in the past at Real Sociedad.
“Yes, we exchanged some messages a few days ago,” Merino said. “He told me he was really happy for me to take this next step in my life. It was amazing sharing the pitch with him back in the day. I have a lot of good memories of our connection and hopefully we can have an even better connection here.
“I remember a pretty good play we made against Osasuna away, where we had a one-two and it finished in a goal for us. But just in general, in every training, in every game I think we had a good connection. He’s a player who moves extremely well behind the back of the midfielders, and for us who play in a similar position, he made the job really easy for me.”
Merino also said, “What I want is to grow, to win, to fulfil my dreams and I think this club has the same mentality. This is something I value a lot. I value a lot the work they put in every single day.
"I have spoken with Mikel (Arteta, manager) and he’s told me the way they work, and I love that way of working as well. So I think it’s the perfect match, now it’s time to get to work, the part I love doing, and hopefully everything goes well.
“The thing that inspires me a lot is they keep doing it. They are keeping the hunger, they won’t give up and I want to come here and help them achieve their goals. Obviously they have an amazing team, an amazing squad, I can see they have amazing facilities, amazing staff around them. So I think it’s the best mix, and hopefully this year we can do big things together.”