Arsenal are aiming to strengthen their midfield in this transfer window, but there is still uncertainty over several midfield targets.
Arsenal have been linked with several players, with Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa recently emerging as an option given his contract status at Villa Park, but it now appears that the Brazilian is edging closer to a move to Juventus.
Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad has been strongly linked, but in recent weeks it appeared that the Spaniard was keen on remaining in La Liga.
However, nothing has been decided yet with regard to Zubimendi, and he is now more likely to join Mikel Arteta’s side than Luiz this summer.
Martin Zubimendi is more likely to join Arsenal than Douglas Luiz
In his CaughtOffside column, journalist Ben Jacobs revealed that a deal for Zubimendi, which would cost around £52m, is still possible for Arsenal.
“Martin Zubimendi is still a realistic possibility, though the challenge there is persuading him to leave Real Sociedad. He’s very happy there and that’s why he stayed at the club in January, though that was also with Champions League football to look forward to in the second half of the season, and now it would be all about persuading the player to leave a club that he’s really settled at,” he revealed.
“We also know that Arsenal have looked at Douglas Luiz before, but they’re not engaged in negotiations with him at the moment – it’s all about Aston Villa and Juventus.
“The feeling amongst most in the industry is that Villa need to sell before they can buy, while Juventus need to offer players as part of the deal, with Weston McKennie being one who might return to England.
“If anything falls through, Arsenal would maybe see a window of opportunity, knowing that Aston Villa need to raise funds, but Zubimendi is a more likely target than Luiz.”
Mikel Arteta still has a chance to land his dream target in Zubimendi
It was previously reported that Zubimendi is Arteta’s preferred choice for a new midfielder, and that the Arsenal manager “obsesses” over the idea of the Real Sociedad star following in his own footsteps to the Emirates Stadium.
The likeliest scenario may be that the 25-year-old remains in the Basque Country, given his fierce loyalty to his club and hometown, but nothing is confirmed yet, and should he then become open to a move to Arsenal, it seems likely that Arteta will do all he can to land him.
Zubimendi would link up with Martin Odegaard again, and would be the perfect foil to get the best out of Declan Rice in a variety of midfield roles.