Exclusive: Arsenal likely to face competition for “one of the best” midfielders | OneFootball

I did expect them to make a real push for the Real Sociedad star last summer, but it didn’t happen, with Mikel Arteta raiding Sociedad for Mikel Merino instead.

It obviously then looked like Zubimendi could end up at Liverpool until he rejected the chance to make the move to Anfield in preference of remaining in Spain for at least another season.

Whether Arsenal do revisit their interest in Zubimendi this summer remains to be seen, but I do expect them to bring in another central midfielder and he is certainly one of the best around at the moment.

Martin Zubimendi in action for the Spanish national team (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Martin Zubimendi transfer looks a necessity for Arsenal

Both Thomas Partey and Jorginho will be out of contract at the end of the season and the expectation right now is there is a good chance that both will end up leaving.

Should that be the case, then a new midfielder would have to arrive. To be honest, even if just one of Partey or Jorginho ends up going then a replacement would still be needed.

And Zubimendi would certainly tick a lot of the right boxes in terms of what Arsenal would be looking for.

But we know there will be lots of interest in him elsewhere. We know already about Liverpool’s interest and there can’t be many better options for Manchester City for a long-term replacement or Rodri than the 25-year-old.

So even if he does finally decide to leave Sociedad, he will not be an easy player to sign