Liverpool transfer hopes OVER with Arsenal ‘well advanced’ to make £50.1m man first summer signing

Arsenal are nudging increasingly close to the signing of Martin Zubimendi with a Spanish journalist claiming the Gunners have a real confidence they will sign the midfielder and why prospective transfers to both Liverpool and Real Madrid are expected to fail.

The Real Sociedad star came within a whisker of becoming Arne Slot’s first signing at Liverpool last summer after the Reds agreed to trigger the €60m (£50.1m, $64.8m) clause in his contract at the Reale Arena. While sporting director Richard Hughes also agreed to a package that was set to treble the player’s earnings, a last-minute change of heart from the 26-year-old saw him stay put in San Sebastian.

Despite that last-minute U-turn, Liverpool’s interest in bringing the 17-times capped Spain international to Anfield has not faded and they were again strongly linked with his signature again in the January window.

However, the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel revealed in January that Zubimendi was now expected to sign for Arsenal, with a deal to take him to Emirates Stadium in the summer window having been ‘virtually closed’.

Claims and counter-claims have since followed since that article was published, though evidently until a contract had been officially signed, Mikel Arteta’s side were left exposed to the possibility of being muscled out of the race.

Now a new update from Spanish journalist Marco Ruiz claims Arsenal are ‘well advanced in the deal’ and are willing to meet the midfielder’s buyout clause.

And amid claims Zubimendi was also being chased by Real Madrid, Ruiz insists it is the Gunners who are set to win the race after all.

“On the other hand, there’s Zubimendi. He’s one of the names Real Madrid is considering for their midfield, which has emerged as the most obvious line in need of reinforcement,” Ruiz told AS.

“Vitinha is also liked, but it’s almost impossible to get him out of PSG. As for Zubimendi, the biggest difficulty for Madrid is that Arsenal is well advanced in the deal and is willing to pay the 60 million euro [£50.1m] buyout clause. He is expected to meet with Mikel Merino there.

“Zubimendi was very close to being sold to Liverpool last summer, but Real Sociedad ultimately halted the deal due to the departures of Mikel Merino and [Robin] Le Normand. The San Sebastian club didn’t want to lose another key player and renewed his contract, but kept a 60 million release clause, which is affordable for a player like him.”

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Why Zubimendi wants Arsenal over Liverpool, Real Madrid

The capture of Zubimendi will end a long-running chase from Mikel Arteta, whose interest in his compatriot dates back way before Slot’s arrival as Liverpool manager.

And with the Gunners boss having also signed his former Sociedad teammate Merino last summer, the pair look set to rekindle that partnership at Emirates Stadium from the 2025/26 season onwards.

Zubimendi has seemingly decided to join the Gunners ahead of Real Madrid and Liverpool for various reasons.

Firstly, the rise to prominence of Ryan Gravenberch at Anfield means Zubimendi is neither guaranteed a start there nor making the player a priority signing for Liverpool, who will instead look to sign a new left-back this summer, while also potentially preparing for the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and potentially Mo Salah.

Zubimendi’s loyalties to boyhood club Sociedad also meant the possibility of signing for another Spanish side difficult, albeit not impossible.

Furthermore, the fact that Arsenal will soon have a vacancy in their midfield to fill – Jorginho is expected to leave this summer after finding minutes hard to come by, while Thomas Partey also becomes a free agent on July 1 – practically gifts Zubimendi a free pass into their first team – ideal in the build-up to a World Cup year.

Arsenal transfer latest: Brentford star wanted; Newcastle interest cools

With Zubimendi now expected to sign, sources confirmed to TEAMtalk on Monday that the Gunners are ready to end their interest in signing Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

The Brazilian has long been on their radar and while the player is not agitating to leave St James’ Park, together with the Gunners now focusing on other areas of their side, that deal has now been officially taken off their radar.

That’s not to say a raid on Newcastle is not possible, though, with the Gunners very much still keen on another top Magpies star.

Meanwhile, our transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti has confirmed Arsenal interest in signing Brentford talisman Bryan Mbeumo, while they are also keeping tabs on Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo with Arteta desperate to add a new winger to his mix.

Elsewhere, reports in the Portuguese press claim Arsenal are ready to step up their hunt for Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres.

Arsenal have supposedly scheduled a new meeting with the player’s agent as they try to engineer a ‘decisive raid’.

Incoming Emirates sporting director Andrea Berta also reportedly wants to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves, despite the steep price on the Brazilian’s head.

IN-FOCUS: How Zubimendi compared to Rodri last season

With Rodri suffering from a serious ACL injury this season, meaning any comparison would be unfair, we’ve looked at how the two men compared last season – and it’s safe to say the incoming Arsenal man will clearly bring a lot to the table. While not offering quite as much going forward as the Man City star, Zubimendi does offer brilliant protection to the defence from midfield and is an extremely tidy operator, making his £50m fee seem well worth the money for a modern-day DM.