Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi.
Arsenal pair Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi.
Arsenal have already reportedly reached a verdict on whether to sell Martin Zubimendi and/or Piero Hincapie in January amid interest from FC Barcelona.
The Gunners have carried on from where they left off last season, with Mikel Arteta‘s side emerging as the firm favourites to win the Premier League title again.
Arsenal have room for improvement in attack, but their squad is stacked in other positions and this means that some high-quality players only have limited game time.
This includes Zubimendi, who joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad for £60m in 2025, and Hincapie, who made his move to the Gunners from Bayer Leverkusen permanent in the summer.
Hincapie has struggled to dislodge Riccardo Calafiori from Arsenal’s first XI lately, while we have reported that Zubimendi is ready to leave the Premier League giants after slipping behind Declan Rice, Bruno Guimaraes and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the pecking order.
Despite this, Zubimendi and Hincapie are still good enough to play an important role for most elite European clubs, and Arsenal have reached a verdict on whether to let them join Barcelona in the upcoming winter transfer window…
Arsenal reach verdict on selling Martin Zubimendi and Piero Hincapie
Barcelona have been linked with moves for the two players, but Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claims Arteta is ‘reluctant’ to let Zubimendi leave in January because he is wary that injuries could leave him short in midfield during the run-in.
Likewise, ActualiteBarça (via Sport) says Arteta has reached a similar verdict on letting Hincapie leave after Barcelona ‘made contact’ because he ‘does not want to reduce the options in a squad that must compete in several competitions.’
Instead, Arsenal are more likely to add to their squad in January by signing a left-winger and/or striker, and we reported on Tuesday that they are among a host of clubs interested in signing an Atletico Madrid standout.
It has also emerged that the Gunners have a leading target to be their next striker signing to upgrade on £64m flop Viktor Gyokeres.
And former Liverpool star Djibril Cisse has explained why he thinks Gyokeres needs to be replaced at Arsenal.
Cisse told Mr Gamble: “Does Viktor Gyokeres lack the quality to lead the line for Arsenal? I went through that myself at Liverpool. I arrived from France where I was walking on water, I’d scored 26 goals.
“He was in Portugal dominating the league. You arrive in a more physical league with far more intensity, and you have to adapt to that. It can take a year or two. He has to keep working.
“Arsenal are a team that play football, and when you’re not at the level technically, it shows, because everyone is very, very technical, just like their coach.
“But he’s also someone who has scored goals. You can’t forget that he’s a goalscorer. A goalscorer never loses it. It disappears sometimes but it comes back.”