Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso, Martin Zubimendi (Photos: Eric Verhoeven/Soccrats/Getty Images, Angel Martinez/Getty Images, Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Arsenal already appears to be sewing its first signature of the summer, but there is now a possibility that this deal will collapse due to the emergence of Real Madrid.
It is set to be a big summer for Arsenal, who is aiming to bounce after a third consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League. The new striker and left winger are being asked by Mikel Arteta, who is seeking to sign Martin Zubimendi from his hometown club Real Sociedad.
It is assumed that Arsenal will sign Zubimendi for no reason, and trades are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. However, trading may not be possible now.
Real Madrid prepares Martin Zubimendi’s final visit move
As Diario reported as (via Football España), Real Madrid has not given up on his hopes to sign Zubimendi. Soon, they reenter negotiations with Real Sociedad in the hopes of stealing the agreement.
Arsenal is preparing to trigger Zvimendi’s 60 million euro release clause, so they don’t need to agree to a deal with the LA La Liga side. Real Madrid doesn’t want to reach this amount, so they want to agree to a reduction fee in exchange for the Basque club to acquire one or two players on a zero-cost loan.
The report states that Zubimendi prefers to stay in Spain, which gives Real Madrid a great advantage. But it could be lost considering that Arsenal is as unprepared to pay the Spanish midfielder as he promised him.
It is still unknown where Zubimendi will end by the end of summer. There may be a growing nerve among Arsenal supporters, but for now he is still expected to move to North London.