It appears that this much-lauded youngster will be staying at the Emirates rather than being sent out on loan.

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After being heavily linked with a second loan spell at Real Sociedad last month, Fran Mérida appeared to be heading out of the Arsenal exit door.
However, four weeks on it now seems the 18-year-old will get the opportunity to fight for a place in Arsène Wenger’s side after the Frenchman sanctioned the departures of three other starlets. Nacer Barazite, Håvard Nordtveit and Armand Traore have all left for at least four months each, leaving the manager short on potential Carling Cup players.
Shortly after the links - which surprise, surprise came via his agent - Fran issued an interview with Arsenal.com reaffirming his desire to fight for a first team place. The stumbling block over the transfer was Real’s demands to include a permanent clause, something both the club and player were very much against.
Spanish newspaper AS claimed Sociedad wanted the deal done in time for this weekends Segunda kick off, but with the deadline now slipping away, Mérida remains in training at London Colney preparing himself for more Carling Cup run outs. Wenger told the official Arsenal magazine last month that Mark Randall, Henri Lansbury and Kieran Gibbs will also feature in the League Cup, Fran now looks like he will add his name to the list. (youngguns)

Fran Merida is a name that many Gunners fans salivate over and it’’s easy to see why. The 18-year-old attacker is an awesome prospect, amongst a veritable feast of such players at the north London club, who proved himself more than capable when he was on loan to Real Sociedad. After all, he helped them to within a whisker of promotion to La Liga. Are Arsenal fans looking forward to seeing the Spaniard in Carling Cup action and could he be ready for Premier League action this season?

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