Martin Zubimendi has reportedly stunned Arsenal by cancelling his expected switch to The Emirates this summer as he holds out for a more illustrious move instead.
The Spain international has been a top target for the Gunners for some time and had been expected to complete a €60million (£50m) move to north London, after Fabrizio Romano confirmed last month that the Gunners had agreed to activate his release clause at Real Sociedad.
A medical was pencilled in for Zubimendi to become a straight replacement for Jorginho in the Arsenal squad after the veteran Italian was released.
Indeed, BBC Sport’s senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel revealed that Zubimendi is ‘set to have a medical’ before completing his transfer to the Gunners. He claimed that ‘all the relevant documents have been signed’ and the deal is ‘entering its final stages’.
However, in a bombshell U-turn, Defensa Central reports that Zubimendi has now decided against moving to Arsenal and is prepared to wait on a switch to Real Madrid instead.
The 26-year-old has spent his entire career at Real Sociedad but had been expected to swap Spain for England, only for the report to suggest that he has expressed ‘several doubts’ over the project in north London and has therefore backed away from the transfer.
The Spanish outlet adds that Zubimendi is concerned by Arsenal’s ability to mount a season-long sustained title challenge and is ready to wait on Real Madrid as a result.
Accordingly, the report declared Zubimendi has ‘informed’ Real Sociedad of his decision NOT to join Arsenal, with that transfer now ‘cancelled.’
Xabi Alonso taking over as Real Madrid boss is said to have played a major part in that decision, with Zubimendi having been in the youth ranks at Real Sociedad when the former Liverpool midfielder was in charge of their B team.
However, if Real Madrid are to make their move then it’s stated they will try and reduce the €60m (£50m) exit clause for a player who now favours a move to Madrid.
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Zubimendi hope for Arsenal
It must be stated, however, that Defensa Central are not the most reliable of sources. To that end, there remains the possibility that Zubimendi’s move to Arsenal is not quite dead yet.
The Gunners have earmarked the arrival of the Spaniard ever since it became apparent that Thomas Partey could move on this summer, while it was always unlikely that Jorginho’s stay would be extended.
However, Partey has been offered a new deal at the Emirates after an impressive season and would have been expected to act as strong competition for Zubimendi for the defensive midfield role.
The Spain star’s arrival would also have allowed the continued development of Declan Rice in the more advanced No.8 position, where he thrived during the 2024/25 season.
It just remains to be seen how much truth there is in the latest report from Spain, as Arsenal try and fill one of the last pieces of the puzzle to end their 20-year plus Premier League title drought.
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