Martin Zubimendi player profile: Arsenal’s new midfielder that Real Madrid were desperate to sign
Martin Zubimendi is widely expected to become an Arsenal player, even if his arrival from Real Sociedad has not yet been officially confirmed.
Still, the Spain international is clearly one of the main names to watch out for in this summer’s transfer window, so what can Arsenal fans expect from this likely new signing in midfield?
Who is Martin Zubimendi? Background and early career
Zubimendi was developed in the Real Sociedad academy, which he joined in 2011 after previously playing for amateur youth club Antiguoko.
Zubimendi started out playing in Real Sociedad’s B team in 2016, before making his La Liga debut for the senior side in 2018.
It wasn’t really until the 2020/21 season that the 26-year-old established himself as a regular starter for the Basque outfit, with a total of 41 appearances in that campaign.
Career statistics and playing style
Zubimendi has now amassed 236 appearances for Sociedad in total, scoring ten goals, while he also has two goals in 19 caps for the Spanish national team.
| Appearances | Goals | Trophies | |
| Real Sociedad | 236 | 10 | 1 (Copa del Rey) |
| Spain | 19 | 2 | 2 (Euros, Nations League) |
Zubimendi has made a name for himself as the new Sergio Busquets, as per the Athletic, among others, while there have also been comparisons with Xabi Alonso, as per Sky Sports.
You can see in the video clip below just how good Zubimendi is on the ball, while he’s also intelligent with his positioning to break up play quickly and get his team back on the front foot…
Zubimendi isn’t flying across Europe to be Slot’s firefighter or Alonso’s Plan C.
He’s coming to Arsenal to conduct football properly.— Slxt (@afcslxt) June 10, 2025
Zubimendi’s arrival makes sense as Jorginho has just left Arsenal, as the Gunners clearly need a no.6 player of this mould to help them dictate play and control the tempo of matches better.
Thomas Partey can also play this role quite well, but he’s out of contract this summer, with no news yet on a renewal, while he’s also generally had problems with injuries during his time at the Emirates Stadium.
Who else wanted to sign Zubimendi?
Zubimendi is now expected to join Arsenal, as per the Athletic’s David Ornstein, who doesn’t tend to miss when it comes to Arsenal transfers.
But it hasn’t been entirely plain sailing for the Spanish midfielder as he heads to north London…
Liverpool
Last summer, it looked likely that Zubimendi was heading for Liverpool, as per the Times and others, though the deal ultimately collapsed as he spent one more season with Sociedad.
This surprised senior figures in the industry, however, with Guillem Balague telling BBC Sport: “I have been told that everything was done with Liverpool, absolutely everything, and then he personally decided not to move to England.”
Real Madrid
Just days ago, Marca reported that Real Madrid could still be in the race for Zubimendi.
The Independent state, however, that Madrid have been left frustrated after missing out on the player.
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