- Arsenal have announced the signing of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad
- The Gunners beat Liverpool and Manchester City to the midfielder’s signature
- LISTEN: Was Paul Pogba doomed from the start at Man United? The team discuss his long-awaited return to football on the back of his free transfer to Monaco
By ZAC CAMPBELL
Published: | Updated:
Arsenal have announced the signing of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi for £51million to mark their first significant outlay of the summer transfer window.
Zubimendi, 26, has signed a five-year deal with the Gunners, who were able to beat Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester City to his signature.
The Spanish international has long been courted by Mikel Arteta‘s side, who have now finally managed to land one of their key targets.
Arsenal confirmed the signing of Zubimendi in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday afternoon, adding that he will wear the number 36 shirt.
Zubimendi’s arrival will come as a huge boost to Arsenal’s midfield, which has undergone a reshuffle following the departures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho.
The Spaniard made 180 appearances in LaLiga for Real Sociedad after coming through their academy setup and has 18 caps for the Spanish national team.
Arsenal have announced the signing of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi for £51m
Zubimendi, 26, has signed a five-year deal with the Gunners in what marks their first significant spending of the summer
Zubimendi told Arsenal’s club website: ‘This is 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.’
Sporting director Andrea Berta, added: ‘We are so happy to bring Martin to Arsenal and have a lot of pride in finalising this transfer. Martin was a key target for us and we all know that he is a perfect fit for our squad with the high quality he has.
‘We welcome Martin and his family to the club. We look forward to him settling in with his teammates and are very excited to see him playing in an Arsenal shirt.’
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.’
The Spaniard made 180 appearances in LaLiga for Real Sociedad since coming through their academy setup
He has also been capped 18 times and was part of the squad that beat England at Euro 2024
The signing will come as a boost to Mikel Arteta as he looks to propel Arsenal to a first Premier League title in two decades
His arrival in north London will see him reunite with Mikel Merino, who also left the Basque Country for the Emirates Stadium last summer.
While MailSport exclusively revealed in January that Arsenal had landed Zubimendi, the LaLiga side did not want to lose such a key player in the middle of the season.
Their stance, coupled with Arteta’s desire to sign Merino, explains why Zubimendi has only now joined.
His arrival will come as a significant boost to Gunners fans hoping for a first title in 22 years next campaign – following three successive second-placed finishes under Arteta.
Arsenal have also now appeared to make a major breakthrough in their pursuit of a striker before the 2025-26 campaign gets underway.
They are reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ with Sporting CP over the signing of striker Viktor Gyokeres, per The Athletic.
The publication reports that personal terms with the Swedish international are not an issue but a transfer fee has not yet been agreed.
Arteta is also said to be keen to land the player before players currently on his books make their return for pre-season training.
