Six months on from Liverpool’s failure to land Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, Arsenal seem to have agreed a deal with the Spanish midfielder, but for the summer, rather than a move in January itself. However, the Gunners have been warned by Spanish media outlets that they must not ‘take for granted’ that activating Zubimendi’s release clause alone would be sufficient to get the deal over the line.
As per the reports, Liverpool were prey to the same error in the summer as they did not put in sufficient efforts in convincing the player to depart the Reale Arena. The 25-year-old has spent his entire playing career so far with La Real and it is understandable that it will require great efforts to persuade him to depart.
Clubs like Manchester City and Bayern Munich have also struggled to convince Zubimendi to join them in the past, with the midfielder now adamant that he is fully focused on life with Real Sociedad, especially until the end of this season at least.
Arsenal, though, will hope that manager Mikel Arteta, as well as the presence of Spanish national teammate Mikel Merino, would be important factors in Zubimendi’s decision to move.
Martin Zubimendi’s journey so far
Martin Zubimendi was born in San Sebastian in 1999 and began his early playing career with Antiguoko in 2006, where he remained until 2011. He then joined Real Sociedad, where he spent five years climbing the ranks in their youth system, before being promoted to their C team in 2016.
Shortly after, he was promoted to their B team, for whom Zubimendi made 50 appearances, scoring four goals and providing one assist as well. He was then promoted to the first team in 2019 and has become one of the main players in the squad alongside club captain Mikel Oyarzabal.
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Zubimendi has made the lone 6 role his own at Real Sociedad and has made 210 appearances for the club, scoring nine goals and providing nine assists as well. So far, he has won just one trophy in his career – the Copa del Rey in the 2019/20 season. With limited chances of winning much with La Real, he could be tempted to move away to progress his career.