Zubimendi to push for January exit at Arsenal on one condition after Arteta talks | OneFootball

Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi has decided that he will push to leave the Emirates Stadium in January on one condition, according to reports.

The Gunners won the Premier League last season as Mikel Arteta guided them to their first title in 22 years, while they also reached the Champions League final.

Arsenal have improved their midfielder with Bruno Guimaraes arriving from Newcastle United and Christian Norgaard leaving to join Everton.

Zubimendi was a key cog in Arteta’s engine room last season but the Spaniard faded as the campaign went on, probably due to the demands of playing so many matches.

Guimaraes and other midfielders are expected to get more minutes than Zubimendi this season and that has played out in their first four matches against Manchester City in the Community Shield final and their three Premier League matches against Coventry City, Aston Villa and Chelsea.

Zubimendi came off the bench in all four matches and the Spain international was linked with a late move to Premier League rivals Chelsea before the transfer window shut.

There had also been reports that Real Madrid held interest over the summer and now TEAMtalk insists that Zubimendi is ‘determined to fight’ for his place in Arteta’s side.

However, the website does reveal that the Arsenal star ‘would push for a January exit if he is not restored to a regular first-team role by the turn of the year’.

TEAMtalk adds: ‘We understand that Zubimendi has already spoken directly with Arteta about his situation.

‘The Arsenal boss remains a huge admirer of the midfielder and has reassured him that he will play a significant role this season.’

But both Chelsea and Real Madrid ‘remain huge admirers of Zubimendi and have maintained contact regarding his situation’ as Arteta showing the midfielder his importance to the team set to ‘ultimately determine how the situation develops’.

‘More importantly, Arsenal have gotten the monkey off their back’

Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer thinks last season’s title win was more important for Arsenal than bringing in a new striker over the summer.

McAteer told 10bet: “When you look at the Vinícius Júnior rumours, Arsenal are at the top table now, so they want to be linked with elite players. Whether that was just paper talk, a story leaked by an agent, or the club showing ambition to satisfy fans, I don’t know how much truth was in it.

“The Álvarez deal felt much more plausible, but he clearly has his heart set on Barcelona. For South American players, there’s that deep connection – we saw it with Philippe Coutinho, and of course with Lionel Messi – where once Barcelona show interest, that’s where they want to go.

“He probably feels the central striker role at Barca is wide open for him. Unfortunately, he’s up against one of the toughest managers in world football in Simeone, who has simply dug his heels in and said no.

“As for Arsenal, if they lose Kai Havertz to injury, neither is a prolific, world-class centre forward in Álvarez’s bracket. But they haven’t gone backward. They have far more squad depth now, like with Zubimendi who will be even better this year.

“More importantly, they’ve gotten the monkey off their back by winning the title. People say the second title is the hardest, but it’s actually the first. After missing out three times, they finally found the blueprint and know what it takes to get over the line.”