Arsenal have completed the signing of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad on a five-year deal. It is a deal which has been in the works for many months, with the news initially breaking in January that the club had found an agreement that would see the Spaniard move to north London.
As reported by football.london in June, Real Madrid registered a late interest in the player but it would have been considered a major shock at the time for the move to Arsenal to collapse after the deal was all agreed in full three months prior. The club had looked to sign Zubimendi with Mikel Merino in the summer of 2024, but Real Sociedad were not open to losing both players, and both teams remained in contact ahead of a deal this summer, maintaining the strong relationship between the sides.
Zubimendi joins Arsenal on a long-term deal, which is believed to have been made possible on more favourable terms for the club, who have paid slightly above his £51million release clause in order to avoid paying the full fee upfront. Zubimendi made 236 appearances for La Real, scoring ten goals as a defensive midfielder.
He came through the youth system in San Sebastian, making 50 appearances for their B side. He has become a full Spain senior international and gained 19 caps, scoring twice, most recently in the Nations League final defeat to Portugal, following on from his second-half appearance against England at the European Championship final, where he was lauded for his performance, replacing Rodri and helping La Roja to yet another major trophy.
He joins Arsenal expecting to start in the midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. He has been a player that manager Mikel Arteta has coveted for a very long time, and the 26-year-old was close to leaving Spain in 2024 for Liverpool until the player decided against the move.
Arteta is known to have been critical in convincing Zubimendi that Arsenal were the correct club to take his next step, a first step outside of his boyhood club. Appreciated for his excellent passing abilities and reliability in terms of attendance, with a very strong injury record, which Arsenal always look for when targeting who they see as ‘Tier 1’ players of a world-class level.
He will be part of a warm-weather training camp the club are understood to be attending before their matches of preparation this summer. He will have the chance to make his debut for the club against AC Milan with his official competition first match at Manchester United on the opening day of the Premier League season.
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