Real Sociedad loanee Kieran Tierney has hailed teammate Martin Zubimendi amid continued interest from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Arsenal splashed out on Declan Rice in 2023 but we could still see the Gunners go big for another midfield in the summer.
Thomas Partey’s continued injury woes and uncertainty surrounding the future of Jorginho mean Arsenal could go for another option.
HITC Football understand that Arsenal have two top midfield targets in mind for this summer – Martin Zubimendi and Douglas Luiz.
Aston Villa are unlikely to seriously entertain selling Luiz, so Zubimendi could be a name to focus on for this summer.
Kieran Tierney hails Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi
Zubimendi has been linked with Arsenal for a while now and there are parallels between him and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
Zubimendi hails from San Sebastian in Spain like Arteta, and emerged in the ranks of Artiguoko just like Arteta.
Arteta took a longer route to playing for Real Sociedad whereas Zubimendi headed straight from Antiguoko to the La Liga side.
The 25-year-old has become one of the most impressive midfielders in Europe and has earned comparisons to Sergio Busquets for his style of play.
Zubimendi could provide a solid base in the middle of the Arsenal midfield, allowing Declan Rice to get up and down the pitch.
The Sociedad star won’t come cheap but he has been given a big billing by Kieran Tierney – a man currently on loan at Sociedad from Arsenal.
Tierney has told The Guardian that Zubimendi is a truly ‘world class’ player alongside teammates Mikel Merino and Brais Mendez.
“I was up against Take Kubo in the first couple of weeks training, so to see how sharp he is struck me,” said Tierney. “You have world-class players like [Martín] Zubimendi, [Mikel] Merino, Brais [Méndez]. It’s not that people don’t think they’re good; it’s just that if you’re only watching the Premier League every week, it’s hard to know. They’re world class, and for so many to come from the academy is incredible,” he added.
Tierney would seemingly back Zubimendi for a move to Arsenal and the Gunners may even fancy getting a little creative here.
Cash plus Tierney could be an intriguing offer from Arsenal in an effort to get Zubimendi out of the club.
We think Zubimendi will become a real priority for Arsenal this summer and if Arteta wants to get Tierney’s opinion, it would seemingly be a resounding one.
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