After more than a year in pursuit, Arsenal are set to sign Real Sociedad defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi as Fabrizio Romano is reporting that the Gunners have reached an agreement with the 26-year-old on a deal and will soon activate his 60 million euro release clause.
Zubimendi is one of the most coveted No. 6’s in the world – a position in which there is a lack of top talent. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester United were all linked with Zubimendi, but it was obvious that the only team he was willing to leave Real Sociedad for was Arsenal.
Now that the transfer is set to be completed, let’s run through the biggest winners and losers on Arsenal as a result of the transfer,
Winner: AM Martin Odegaard
There is perhaps no bigger winner than Martin Odegaard, who came fully under the microscope after a woeful two legged tie against back-to-back Champions League semifinalists PSG.
Odegaard was flat-out anonymous in the second leg against PSG, producing nothing of note as a creator and getting overrun and outworked by effectively the entire PSG side.
A talented player, Odegaard has been poor throughout the 2024/25 season, showing little heart or determination and shockingly minimal quality. Adding Martin Zubimendi will take a lot off Odegaard’s plate and should allow him to play further forward as more of a central playmaker than a right-sided, inverted No.8 ceding defensive duties in order to ineffectively playmake.
Loser: DM Thomas Partey
Thomas Partey’s days have always been numbered, and many Arsenal fans will be glad to see the backside of a player who has made more crucial mistakes than game-changing plays over the past year.
The one-dimensional defensive midfielder isn’t a bad ball-winner, but any time he is going up against a good team, like PSG, the way Mikel Arteta hides his limited technical ability is unmasked.
Zubimendi is a much better player than Partey both technically and in his reading of the game. He suits a team with Arsenal’s ambitions much better, and now with one year left on Thomas’s contract, there is no need to pay the 31-year-old an inflated salary to continue to lower the level of the entire team when he is on the pitch.
Winner: DM Declan Rice
Declan Rice cost Arsenal more than 100 million pounds in 2023, and while that was a hefty price to pay, 2025 has shown that it was absolutely worth it. Because had Manchester City signed him last year, they may have won another Champions League title and certainly wouldn’t be suffering as much this season without Rodri.
Furthermore, Arsenal would not have owned Real Madrid so easily and made it all the way to the Champions League semifinals in an otherwise weak season domestically without the technical quality and field general brilliance of the former West Ham star.
Rice is going to love playing with Zubimendi, because the two will form one of the most technically gifted and intelligent base midfields in European football. This is the kind of partnership that can rule even the Champions League with the right pieces up top.
Loser: CM Mikel Merino
Mikel Merino is ultimately a loser of his former teammate joining Arsenal, because this means that he will see his minutes and importance dwindle further. But in all honesty, a backup, rotational role is probably best for Merino – a player nearing the age of 30 who has never been known for his explosiveness.
Although signing Zubimendi could ultimately prolong Merino’s career, it will likely accelerate his departure from Arsenal anyway. He will continue to be a good rotational piece for the Gunners, but Merino isn’t going to start much since both Rice and Zubimendi are absolute workhorses.
Winner: CB William Saliba
A highly underrated winner of the Martin Zubimendi transfer is actually a player who doesn’t even play in midfield. William Saliba must have been frustrated against PSG with how insecure Thomas Partey’s ball-handling was and how little he offered in terms of progression or even the speed of defensive recoveries.
Thomas is beyond cooked at this level, whereas Zubimendi is 26 and entering his prime as one of the best defensive midfielders on the planet. Zubimendi is going to give much more shape, flexibility, ball security, and defensive cover to the talented Arsenal back line.
Saliba will get to spend less time running around to cover up mistakes and put out fires, so he can spend more time with the nuances of tracking strikers off the ball. Better yet, one of the best ball-playing defenders in world football, Saliba will have more opportunities to show that with Zubimendi as an outlet.
Joe Soriano covers Tottenham for FanSided’s Hotspur HQ and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.