Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal is not a done deal just yet, but there is a "good chance" that the Gunners will complete a swoop for the Real Sociedad man this summer, Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
Last week, the bombshell news broke that Arsenal were set to complete the £51m signing of the Spanish Euro 2024 winner this summer, only months after he rejected a move to Liverpool in favour of staying in his homeland.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has supposedly been courting Zubimendi for months, but the North London giants instead signed his former Real Sociedad teammate Mikel Merino last summer, where Zubimendi appeared destined to join Liverpool.
However, Arsenal appear to have hijacked the Reds' pursuit, and with both 33-year-old Jorginho and 31-year-old Thomas Partey out of contract this summer, Watts has labelled the imminent arrival of Zubimendi "a huge coup" as the Gunners look to seal the deal.
"It's absolutely an area of the pitch that he needed to make at least one addition in the summer because of what's going on at Partey and Jorginho," Watts said. If you're looking around for the best number sixes on the market, then he's right at the very top of that list.
"It's a huge coup for Arsenal if they get it done. It's not done yet. It's looking like it might happen, but nothing's signed. Until something is signed, then you can't sit there and celebrate. We saw what happened with Liverpool last summer. They thought that was a done deal with Martin Zubimendi - it ended up not happening.
"He's been a long-term target of Arsenal. It did go a little bit quiet, but obviously they've been working very, very hard behind the scenes on it and now are in a position where it's looking like they might well get this deal done.
'Every top club in Europe wants Zubimendi'
"He's a fantastic player that all the top clubs in Europe want. And I'm sure they're going to spend the next few months trying to persuade him to change his mind. But if Arsenal do get it over the line, bringing in someone who can just slot into that number six role, it'll be a huge, massive boost for them and for Mikel Arteta because he has absolutely led this attempt."
Zubimendi has excelled as a holding midfielder during his time with Real Sociedad and will be expected to seamlessly slot into that position at Arsenal, who have deployed both Partey and Jorginho as a number six throughout the current campaign.
The latter pair anchoring the midfield has allowed Declan Rice to continue in the left eight role, where he is starting to come into his own again after a slow start to the campaign, netting the Gunners' first in their 3-0 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb in midweek.
The England international also earned plaudits for his bright display in the weekend's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, although he was originally expected to revert to a number six slot in between Merino and Martin Odegaard when the latter two were fully fit again.
However, with Merino yet to establish himself as a regular starter and Partey putting in solid shift after solid shift this season, Watts believes that the Zubimendi signing hints at Arteta's future plans for Rice, suggesting that the ex-West Ham United man will be a long-term solution as the left eight.
"It's an interesting one, because most Arsenal fans were presuming when Partey and Jorginho left, that was going to be a time that Declan Rice drops back to number six and makes that position his own," Watts added. "But if you sign in Martin Zubimendi, he's not really going to be playing as that box-to-box number eight.
"You think he's definitely coming in as the number six, and that maybe means that Arteta has now shifted his mood on Declan Rice and sees him more in that number eight role long-term. So I think that's an interesting development from it if it does indeed happen."
What will Arsenal's first-choice midfield look like with Zubimendi?
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However, the Arsenal expert has also talked up the possibility of Zubimendi and Rice alternating in the deepest position, potentially opening the door for Merino to make an impact further forward too.
"You can rotate Zubimendi and Rice if you have them on board, which is a lovely position to be in," he added. "If you want to give Zubimendi a rest, you can play Rice at six and then you've got Merino and others you can play in the number eight role.
"I do like Declan Rice in that number eight role, he's really stepped up while Martin Odegaard's form dipped recently in the absence of Saka. Any role you can play him on at the moment, he's great. Even in that attacking number eight role, though it's not his real game, he still provides more of a threat than most other Arsenal players.
"But I do look at it certainly against teams who like to sit in the low block and think, can you get a more creative number eight playing in those games? I think you need another option that Merino hasn't been able to really fill in that role so far. But the big games next season, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard - if everyone's fit, that's the three you would think would be playing in that team."
Arsenal and Real Sociedad share a positive relationship in the transfer market thanks to their recent dealings with Merino and Kieran Tierney, who spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan with the Spanish giants.
As a Basque native and former Real Sociedad player himself, Arteta also possesses a deep connection to the White and Blues, whose sporting director Roberto Olabe has been mentioned as a potential successor to Edu after the Brazilian's shock resignation.
Olabe was also in the Real Sociedad offices when Arteta joined the club as a player in 2004, while current Arsenal skipper Odegaard spent a year on loan at the Basque side while on the books at Real Madrid.
Arsenal-Real Sociedad connection "very important" in Zubimendi negotiations
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Watts has no doubts that Arteta and Arsenal's strong bond with Real Sociedad would have been crucial to getting the Zubimendi deal over the line, as well as the managers' charm when speaking to prospective signings, which £105m man Rice can attest to.
"I think the Sociedad connection is very important," Watts added. "We've had Arsenal send Kieran Tierney over there recently to sign Mikel Merino in the summer. I think Zubimendi's name would certainly come up in those conversations.
"Real Sociedad are well aware that Arsenal wanted Zubimendi. They wouldn't have wanted to lose their two key midfielders in the same summer. So I imagine Arsenal smoothed that over by saying, 'OK, we're not going to come back in for him this summer, we'll have Merino.'
"Roberto Olabe is obviously sporting director there, he's been heavily linked with a potential move to Arsenal as well. So there is a very strong link. Mikel Arteta, he's very good when it comes to talking to players.
"In a one-on-one conversation with Mikel Arteta, it's very hard not to come away and really believe what he's told you and think, 'wow, he's very, very impressive.' You talk to Declan Rice about why he signed for Arsenal and he will just tell you all the conversations with Mikel Arteta. He just made him believe this was the place to be.
"I imagine in conversations that have gone on behind closed doors that Arteta would have been really, really influential in Zubimendi making the decision that he appears that he's going to make. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself because it is not done. That's been made very clear to me. But the signals are that it's a good chance it'll be happening."
Zubimendi memorably replaced Rodri at half time in Spain's 2-1 win over England in the final of Euro 2024, and the 25-year-old has also won the UEFA Nations League and an Olympic silver medal at international level.
While Arsenal appear to be on the verge of capturing Zubimendi, they are no closer to signing a new striker, and Watts also explained why the Gunners need to follow Manchester City's example to boost their attacking ranks before the January window closes.
Ben Knapton
