A number of staff members at Arsenal all want Mikel Arteta to sign the same midfielder this summer.
The midfield department will be under the spotlight this summer as Arsenal find themselves needing to solve a few issues.
There is the situation with Jorginho, who sees his contract expire in July and is yet to hold advanced talks over a renewal – amid interest from Barcelona.
There are also doubts surrounding Thomas Partey’s future at the Emirates Stadium, so the signing of – at least – one new central midfielder would make sense for Arsenal.
So, which midfielder do staff members at Arsenal want Mikel Arteta to sign? Let’s take a look…
Arsenal staff members want Mikel Arteta to sign Martin Zubimendi
Well – according to the Daily Mail – staff at Arsenal want to see Real Sociedad No.4 Martin Zubimendi arrive at the Emirates Stadium this summer.
The Spain international is a name Arsenal fans may remember from January 2023 – when The Athletic claimed that the Gunners were ready to trigger his €60m (£51m) release clause.
That deal never materialised and Arsenal ended up settling for the aforementioned Jorginho in a much cheaper move, said to be worth £12m.
Now – however – another attempt could be made this summer.
The Daily Mail explain how Zubimendi has strong support amongst the recruitment team at Arsenal, and is expected to be available for £50m this summer.
Arsenal could also move to sign a new full-back, depending on how Oleksandr Zinchenko finishes the 2023/24 campaign.
£50m move could help Declan Rice
In our view, the arrival of Zubimendi could take Declan Rice’s game to another level.
The Arsenal No.41 has arguably looked his most assured when playing in the same midfield as Jorginho, a highly technical, classy operator whose assurance in possession allows the England international to roam forward and do things with more confidence.
Rice has even reinforced that belief himself, claiming that the Italian “does things that are such high quality” alongside him in midfield.
So, if Arsenal manage to replace the Italy international with a younger option in Zubimendi – aged just 25 and spoken about in the same breath as Rodri – it could make Rice’s life in midfield a lot easier.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as the upcoming summer could finally see Arteta sign his fellow countryman.
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