Arsenal have signed midfielder, Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad in a £51m transfer deal.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners tried in vain to sign Zubimendi last summer but failed to reach agreement with Sociedad, although both clubs since successfully continued negotiations over the past year which saw Arsenal activate the 26-year-old’s release clause of £51m.
Zubimendi described the move as “a huge moment in my career. It’s the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are.
“I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come.”
Manager, Mikel Arteta added: “Martin is a player who will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team. He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us.
“The standard he has consistently performed at over the last few seasons for both club and country is exactly why we are so excited to have him with us. We all welcome Martin and his family to the club.”
Zubimendi will wear the number 36 shirt for the new season.
Zubimendi began his career at local club, Antiguoko and joined Real Sociedad’s academy in 2011, although he was loaned back to Antiguoko between 2011-13 before he went on to graduate through Sociedad’s academy.
His senior debut came as a substitute for Ruben Pardo in a 2-1 home win over Getafe in April 2019 and he went on to make 11 first-team appearances in 2019-20 season, during which he started in Sociedad’s Copa del Rey triumph that campaign with victory over Athletic Bilbao in the final.
The 2019-20 season also marked his fourth season with the B-Team of whom he scored four goals in 50 appearances for the reserve side.
Zubimendi went on to make a full graduation to the senior squad for the 2020-21 season and has since gone on to score 10 goals in 236 total first-team appearances, of which 225 of those appearances came from the 20-21 campaign onwards.
The 26-year-old also has scored one goal in 17 senior international appearances for Spain over the last four years, and was part of the team which won 2022-23 UEFA Nations League then 2024 UEFA Euro titles.
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