Arsenal have signed Martin Zubimendi a year after the midfielder turned down a move to Liverpool.
The midfielder has completed a move to the Gunners for a reported fee of £60 million. Zubimendi makes the switch to the Premier League a year after he could have become a Reds player.
Last summer, Liverpool were keen to sign the Spain international after he helped his country win Euro 2024 and were willing to pay his £51 million release clause. But Zubimendi made a surprise U-turn and decided he was not ready to leave his boyhood club Sociedad.
But 12 months later, the 26-year-old decided it was time to leave the BasqueCountryy and opted for London. Speaking on his decision, Zubimendi told Arsenal’s club website: “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.”
New reason for Zubimendi rebuff
The Telegraph suggests that when Zubimendi was considering a move to Liverpool that Arsenal were also keen. However, as the Gunners were signing his Sociedad team-mate Mikel Merino, they did not want to lose two midfielders in the same summer.
It’s also suggested that Slot’s arrival as head coach would have also come into Zubimendi’s thinking. Slot was tasked with filling the vast void of Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss. During his nine years at Anfield manager, Klopp engineered the Reds’ return to the pinnacle of European football as seven major trophies were won, including the Premier League and Champions League.
Zubimendi said on Liverpool’s offer: "I went on vacation, and it caught me by surprise. It wasn't something I had planned. I reacted when the situation arose. It was an uncomfortable time for me but I weighed the pros and cons and concluded that the best option was to stay.
"I looked at my personal progression, who I am, and the club's project... I stayed because I knew this season would be important for me in the team, and I still had steps to take. It wasn't that hard of a decision."
Liverpool’s reaction
Liverpool’s failed pursuit of Zubimendi did not impact them, however. Slot reacted by deploying Ryan Gravenberch in the number-six role and it proved highly fruitful. Gravenberch was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League as the Reds comfortably won the title in Slot’s maiden season.
Gravenberch started every league game on the way to Liverpool claiming the silverware and made a total of 49 appearances in all competitions throughout the 2024-25 season.
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