Arsenal bolsters midfield with £60m Zubimendi deal
Arsenal completed a deal worth close to £60m (€69.5m) to sign central midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.
Zubimendi has long been expected to clinch a move to the Emirates Stadium, with Mikel Arteta looking to strengthen his midfield after three successive runner-up finishes in the Premier League.
The 26 year-old rejected the chance to join Liverpool last year, having been part of Luis de la Fuente's victorious Spain squad at Euro 2024.
Arsenal did not reveal details of Zubimendi's contract, only saying he had penned a "long-term" deal with the club.
"This is a huge moment in my career. It's the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make.
"As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are.
"I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come."
Zubimendi graduated from La Real's youth system before spending six years in their first-team squad, making 236 appearances across all competitions.
He played alongside current Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino as La Real won the Copa del Rey in 2019-2020, also helping his boyhood club achieve Champions League qualification by finishing fourth in LaLiga in 2022-2023.
In 36 league appearances last season, Zubimendi attempted 1,752 passes and completed 1,479, with 321 of his successful passes ending in the final third.
Those first two figures were team-highs for La Real as they finished 11th, while only Takefusa Kubo (326) bettered the latter total.
Zubimendi also made a valuable contribution defensively last season, ranking in the top 16 percent of central midfielders in LaLiga for ground duel success rate and the top 23 percent for aerial duel success rate.
"Martin will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team," Martin said. "He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us.
"The standard he has consistently performed at over the last few seasons for both club and country is exactly why we are so excited to have him with us. We all welcome Martin and his family to the club."
Zubimendi's Premier League debut could come against Manchester United at Old Trafford, where Arsenal begins its 2025-2026 campaign on 17 August.
