Mikel Arteta will have seen exactly what Martin Zubimendi's best qualities are had the Arsenal boss watched Spain's Nations League win over the Netherlands. The Real Sociedad midfielder is expected to arrive at Emirates Stadium this summer with his battling display on Sunday evening a glimpse of what the Gunners will be getting.
Links to Arsenal, along with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Liverpool, have been strong in the last few trading periods but the 26-year-old turned down all of those advances and chose to remain playing for his boyhood club.
However, with Real struggling in La Liga and now out of Europe, it appears time for a change.
A move to the Premier League is looking inevitable with football.london reporting back in January a deal to bring him to Arsenal is in a very good place. Just last summer, he opted against a move to Liverpool where he would've become Arne Slot's first signing.
The Spaniard is believed to have a release clause in his contract that stands at £51million, though the Gunners could pay that sum through instalments.
That route would allow the club to continue complying with profit and sustainability rules especially as two potential departures this summer will see Arsenal take in no funds.
Both Thomas Partey and Jorginho are expected to leave at the end of their contracts with Zubimendi seemingly to arrive as one replacement.
Arteta was denied one chance to watch him on the big stage after he missed the Europa League clash against Manchester United through illness, but that was not the case this past weekend.
Zubimendi played 105 minutes of Spain's thrilling Nations League encounter with the Netherlands that they eventually won on penalties.
In a fiery clash, Zubimendi committed four fouls, but he recovered possession eight times with Spanish media outlet AS praising his work off the ball.
“He not only cut well but also generated some play, although he tends to be conservative with the ball at his feet," their description of his display read. While he was able to cut out multiple passing lanes successfully, there appears to be concerns about his ability to progress from deep.
Thankfully for Arteta, Declan Rice is arguably one of the best at exactly that when the ball is at his feet.
Starting moves from deep will of course be one job for Zubimendi but his priority will be to prevent the opposition from generating threatening attacks.
As he is set to lose two defensive midfielders, Arteta is likely very aware of the player he is buying and it will be the job of others further up in midfield, alongside the inverting full-backs, to move the ball seamlessly through the pitch.