Merino had previously tried his hand in the Premier League with Newcastle United and left after a year.
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But he returned in the summer on a big contract, seen as the missing piece to get Arsenal to win trophies.
“I was seduced by the fact that it was a team in a process of growth, that they had not yet won, and they wanted to win," Merino said in an interview with El País.
"Feeling a participant in building a winning culture, as happened to me at Real.
“And also, that they insisted that they could help me grow more.
“It will be a place where they will try to help you polish your defects and become that total player who can achieve more things on an individual level.”