Welcome to The Arsenal, Martin Zubimendi!

Arsenal announced that Spain international Martin Zubimendi has joined Arsenal on a long-term contract. - Arsenal Transfer News

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Martin Zubimendi on Arteta, Odegaard, Merino, the EPL, Cesc, Monreal & more | First Interview

After completing his move, Arsenal new midfielder Martin Zubimendi revealed he cannot wait to get down to business in Arsenal's red and white.

The Euro 2024 winner joins from Real Sociedad where he spent 15 years, coming through their famed academy to become a leading light in the middle of the park.

While leaving his hometown of San Sebastian wasn’t an easy decision, Martin was left in no doubt that his future was set for north London.

“Once I made the decision to leave, I set my sights on Arsenal because I think their style of play is a good fit for me,” Arsenal new midfielder said in his first interview.

“It’s a young, highly motivated and ambitious team. They have shown their potential recently, and I believe the best is yet to come. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are. Andrea [Berta] and Mikel [Arteta] took excellent care of me, leaving me with no doubts whatsoever.

“This is a huge moment in my career. It's the move I was looking for; one I wanted to make. Of course, it's a big change, but I'm ready to get started.”

Zubimendi’s path to success follows similarities to Arteta. The pair turned out for the same youth team, Antiguoko, before both representing Real Sociedad.

He said: “We have a lot in common. We come from the same city and played for the same teams. We'll have something to talk about off the pitch, I'm happy about that.”

When Martin heads to the Sobha Realty Training Centre, he will be greeted by a few familiar faces. One of whom is Martin Odegaard, and while they only played together for three months, our captain made a lasting impression on our new number 36.

He said: “Apart from how hard Martin works on the pitch, I was surprised by how much he works off the pitch at the gym.

“He is 100% focused on his fitness. As for Real, it's difficult when you're on loan, but Martin experienced all that.”

Zubimendi also featured alongside Mikel Merino during his time at the Reale Arena, making 169 appearances together. As well as also knowing David Raya from the Spanish national team, Martin hopes this will help him hit the ground running in N5.

“I'm happy to be here with them. I've played many games alongside Merino over the years.

“It's important because it will make the transition much easier for me, and I'm sure they'll be a great help.”

Welcome to The Arsenal, Martin Zubimendi!

Arsenal announced that Spain international Martin Zubimendi has joined Arsenal on a long-term contract.

The 26-year-old arrives from Real Sociedad, for whom he made 236 appearances in all competitions at first-team level after graduating from the club’s academy. In April 2021, Martin helped Sociedad win the delayed 2019/20 Copa del Rey against intercity rivals Athletic Club, alongside current Gunner Mikel Merino.

He was then ever-present in 2022/23 as Real Sociedad secured their highest league finish in recent history, ending the season in fourth place to secure Champions League football for only the third time, and the first in 10 years.

A Spnaish international, Martin started all five games in the 2020 Olympic Games as they claimed silver in Tokyo and has gone on to make 19 senior appearances for La Roja, winning the 2023 UEFA Nations League as well as helping his country defeat England 2-1 to win Euro 2024, coming on as a half-time substitute.

Martin said: “This is a huge moment in my career. It's the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are.

“I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come.”

Sporting Director, Andrea Berta, added: “We are so happy to bring Martin to Arsenal and have a lot of pride in finalising this transfer. Martin was a key target for us and we all know that he is a perfect fit for our squad with the high quality he has.

“We welcome Martin and his family to the club. We look forward to him settling in with his teammates and are very excited to see him playing in an Arsenal shirt.”

Mikel Arteta added: “Martin is a player who will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team. He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us.

“The standard he has consistently performed at over the last few seasons for both club and country is exactly why we are so excited to have him with us. We all welcome Martin and his family to the club.”

Martin will wear the number 36 shirt and will join up with his new teammates at the Sobha Realty Training Centre when the team report for pre-season.

Everyone at Arsenal welcomes Martin to the club.