Arsenal’s midfield looks settled. Mikel Arteta’s side top the Premier League with nine wins from 10, including a 1-0 victory at Anfield, where Kai Havertz scored the only goal, and a 1-0 win over Hull City on Saturday. Declan Rice remains untouchable, Martin Ødegaard keeps the creative role, and Myles Lewis-Skelly, 19, has held the second holding place since the spring.
The summer made the group deeper still. Bruno Guimaraes arrived from Newcastle to join Mikel Merino, leaving Arteta with several senior options for three places. The casualty is a Spain international who scored five goals in last season’s title win. This term, all seven of his Premier League appearances have come off the bench; injuries to his ankle and nose have interrupted him, and he has made one start in all competitions, against Ipswich in a cup tie.
He has played in only two of Spain’s last 10 matches, and he has admitted the situation is “not ideal”. Arsenal face Newcastle away on November 21 and Manchester City at the Emirates the following weekend, but rotation rarely turns into starts for someone this far down the order.
That frustration has reached Madrid. According to Metro, citing broadcaster RNE and SPORT, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is plotting an ambitious January move for Martin Zubimendi, the 27-year-old who joined from Real Sociedad for £60m 18 months ago and has three and a half years left on his contract. Simeone reportedly dreams of pairing him with Pablo Barrios.
Real Madrid are admirers, Chelsea have shown strong interest recently, and a swap involving Julian Alvarez has been floated, although no talks have taken place. Arteta calls Zubimendi “a very important player” and blames injuries.
What Zubimendi offers Arsenal
FotMob data puts him above the 75th percentile among midfielders for touches and aerial duels, the profile of a calm anchor. The weakness is output, as his chance creation sits near the midfield average and his shot volume is below it.
Should Arsenal sell their £60m midfielder in January?
No. Zubimendi is Arsenal’s closest like-for-like understudy for Rice, and Lewis-Skelly hasn’t proved he can start every week across four competitions. The contract removes urgency, while Real Madrid and Chelsea keep his price firm. The Alvarez idea makes little sense, because the Independent reports Arsenal would reinvest any fee in a wide player. More bench minutes could erode a £60m asset, so a summer sale is the sensible plan. Arsenal should keep him until the title race is decided.
