Arsenal signed Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi for a total fee of around £55m; he is the Gunners’ first signing of the summer.
Zubimendi has been heavily linked to Arsenal since January, when it was reported that an agreement had been made between the two parties. However, after a long spell of uncertainty, the deal to bring the Spanish midfielder to the Emirates has finally been done.
Last year, Zubimendi scored two goals and provided two assists for Sociedad, he made 48 appearances, and played a key role in the defensive midfield spot. He will likely come into Mikel Arteta‘s midfield alongside Martin Odegaard, and Declan Rice.
The 26-year-old will join up with Spain national teammates Mikel Merino and David Raya, and former Sociedad teammate Odegaard. It is the first of hopefully several signings for the Gunners this summer, with a striker also looking close.
Zubimendi on why he joined Arsenal
The Spanish midfielder always seemed to be coming to the Emirates, and he has now revealed what persuaded him to come to North London in his first interview with the club’s official website.
He said: “Once I made the decision to leave, I set my sights on Arsenal because I think their style of play is a good fit for me.”
“It’s a young, highly motivated and ambitious team. They have shown their potential recently, and I believe the best is yet to come. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are. Andrea [Berta] and Mikel [Arteta] took excellent care of me, leaving me with no doubts whatsoever.
“This is a huge moment in my career. It’s the move I was looking for; one I wanted to make. Of course, it’s a big change, but I’m ready to get started.”
He also suggested that he sees a lot of himself in Mikel Arteta, when the Arsenal boss was a midfielder for the club. It was one of the reasons why he was persuaded with the move.
“We have a lot in common.” Martin said, “We come from the same city and played for the same teams. We’ll have something to talk about off the pitch, I’m happy about that.”
