Romano reveals Arsenal's perfect next signing

Tom Weber

• Updated: 15 Jan 2024 15:13 GMT
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano believes that Arsenal should reinforce their midfield with Martin Zubimendi.

The Real Sociedad star has been in inspired form for his boyhood club for quite some time. Indeed, already last season, the 24-year-old's performances piqued the interest of Europe's biggest hitters, including Arsenal.

The Gunners were linked with a move in the previous January window, but nothing ultimately materialised, with Zubimendi keen to stay in a familiar environment and help his club qualify for the Champions League. Having achieved that, he again spurned big-name interest in the summer to play a vital role in Erreala qualifying for the knockout stages of Europe's premier competition.

This has again attracted the attention of high-profile sides, though Barcelona have already had to end their pursuit due to his price tag and ostensible unwillingness to head to Catalunya. Zubimendi reportedly has a €60 million release clause in San Sebastian.

Arsenal should sign Zubimendi

Arsenal, however, remain interested in the the Real star, perhaps also due to the Basque connection of Mikel Arteta. Like Zubimendi, Arteta was born in San Sebastian.

The Erreala man isn't the only midfielder the Gunners have been linked with, though, with Arteta also a big admirer of Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz. Villa's steep asking price, however, means that a deal is unlikely to materialise. Moreover, Amadou Onana has recently appeared as a target.

But according to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal should make signing Zubimendi their priority. “It looks difficult for a deal to happen this January, but we’ll see if the situation is different in the summer,” he told CaughtOffside.

“So, which of those players would be the best fit for Mikel Arteta’s side? My personal feeling is that Zubimendi would be fantastic, even if Onana and Douglas have the advantage of both already knowing the Premier League. Zubimendi is a fantastic player, he can help with his vision, quality and intelligence on the ball – he’s the perfect midfielder."

“Still, it’s important to say that he’s very happy at Real Sociedad, only focused on his club and he already rejected chances to leave in the recent years as he always wanted to stay there.”