Real Sociedad defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi has been one of LaLiga’s finest players over the last couple of seasons, and after rebuffing several big clubs in order to stay with La Real, it looks like Arsenal have the inside track to finally sign the most coveted No. 6 on the transfer market.
Defensive midfielders who control the game are a rare commodity in world football, and they generally go for major transfer fees. Real Madrid spent 80 million euros on Champions League winner Aurelien Tchouameni in 2022, while Arsenal spent a club record 100 million pounds on Declan Rice in 2023.
Zubimendi will be cheaper than those two at 60 million euros, though, at 26 years old, he’s also hitting the transfer market a few years older than Rice and Tchouameni were.
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Arsenal are the leaders to sign Martin Zubimendi
Arsenal have been working hard to sign Zubimendi. Their manager, Mikel Arteta, played midfield for Real Sociedad back in the day, and last summer, Arsenal signed one of Zubi’s midfield teammates from La Real in Mikel Merino.
According to insider Fabrizio Romano, via Madrid Xtra, Arsenal are currently “very, very advanced” in talks to sign Martin Zubimendi and that it will be “difficult” for another club to swoop in and sign him. They are “confident” in securing the Spanish midfielder’s transfer this summer.
However, Fab leaves the door open for the possibility of Spanish giants Real Madrid stealing away Zubi, because if Real Madrid are able to hire Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso this summer, then they could be in the picture for a move.
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Xabi Alonso loves Zubimendi
Alonso is said to be very much in love with Zubimendi as a player. And like Arteta, Alonso used to be a midfielder for Real Sociedad. In fact, Alonso and Arteta were teammates at the historic Basque club.
It seems likely that Carlo Ancelotti has run his course as Real Madrid manager after a series of disappointing results in the 2024/25 season and an eroding discipline among the players at the club.
The time for a change has come, and Alonso, a former Champions League winner for Los Blancos, seems like the perfect coach to take charge after turning Bayer Leverkusen into an undefeated juggernaut last season and still having them in title contention this year.
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Would Zubi really want to play against Real Sociedad?
So Arsenal can’t say Zubimendi is theirs until everything is signed, and we have seen Real Madrid convince star players to join them. And maybe Zubi wouldn’t want to leave Spain, even if it means having to play against Real Sociedad at least twice per season.
But that could be all the more reason to not join Madrid. Right now, there are more reasons for Zubimendi to join Arsenal than not. They have worked hard to sign him, shown him their project, and will make him feel important. He is theirs to lose.
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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.