-
News
- 52 minutes ago
Arteta targets €80m ace as Merino replacement after dazzling Champions League display
Robin Bairner
- 18 Sept 2025 08:15 BST
- 4 min read
News
Arsenal’s Champions League trip to Athletic Club has convinced manager Mikel Arteta who his next signing in North London should be, according to a report in Spain.
The Gunners got their European campaign for the season off to a winning start as they went to Bilbao and came away with the win thanks to second-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.
Victory, though, was hard fought. For much of the game, Athletic held their own, with Oihan Sancet catching the eye for the hosts.
Current ETV
Oihan Sancet
M, AM (C)
Athletic
Oihan Sancet
M, AM (C)
Athletic
ETV Range
€51.3M - €62.7M
Indeed, Sancet’s performance was so good that Arsenal are now willing to pay €80 million for the Basque star, according to Fijaches.
Arteta, though, knows how difficult it is to prise players away from Athletic. He is a long-term admirer of Nico Williams, who missed the Champions League clash because of injury, but has been unable to persuade the Spain international to swap Bilbao for London.
Sancet is unlikely to be much easier to snap, despite Arteta coming away stunned by the performance of the 25-year-old, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €57 million.
The report claims: “The coach believes the Navarrese native could be the missing piece to perfect a midfield that already boasts Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard as its main pillars. Furthermore, the possible departure of Mikel Merino opens the door to the restructuring of the midfield.”
It goes on to claim that Arsenal are willing to offer €80m for Sancet.
Why are Athletic players so hard to sign?
Athletic’s policy of only signing Basque players makes them a unique club and also makes it particularly difficult to sign players from them.
Due to their small pool of potential talent, they tend to offer high wages for star players as an incentive not to leave.
In addition, the scarcity of possible replacements means that each player they have is inherently more valuable to them because they are more difficult to replace.
Every time they make a sale, it has to be carefully considered, and it’s likely that the buying club is forced to pay above the odds as a result.
Football transfer news headlines today
REVEALED: Arsenal’s smartest summer signing's value has TRIPLED already
EXCLUSIVE: Celtic ponder ambitious Sterling loan as Rodgers eyes reunion
Mourinho BLOCKS Chelsea: New Benfica boss takes first decision
Man Utd financial results: Key takeaways for fans and why they matter
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
