Arsenal to battle Bayern Munich and Barcelona for €60 million rated midfielder - Report
Arsenal are ready to go fight Bayern Munich and Barcelona for the signature of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, as per Barca Universal. Mikel Arteta's side are long-term admirers of the 24-year-old and are thought to be plotting an offer in the summer.
The Gunners have Thomas Partey potentially on his way out in the summer and have reportedly identified Zubimendi as a candidate to replace the Ghana international. Arsenal were keen on the midfielder in January but were rebuffed by Real Sociedad who were desperate to hold onto their star man until the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are also believed to be monitoring the midfielder closely for months. The Bavarians’ director Christoph Freund even met the Spain international in Portugal recently to discuss the transfer, as per reports.
Barca reportedly view him as the heir to Sergio Busquets. However, their financial fair play woes mean that they failed to trigger his €60 million release clause last summer and could face the same fate next summer.
Zubimendi is a defensive midfielder who excels on the ball and is more of a deep-lying playmaker. He came through the youth ranks of Real Sociedad and has made 175 appearances for the Basque club. The midfielder has also been capped four times by Spain.
Paul Merson claims Arsenal job is more appealing than the Barcelona job right now
Paul Merson has claimed that the Arsenal job is more glamourous than the Barcelona job right now as Mikel Arteta has been linked with the Blaugrana hot seat. Xavi Hernandez has announced his decision to leave the Catalan giants at the end of the season with various reports tipping Arteta as the potential successor.
While speaking about Arteta's links with the Barca job, Merson wrote in his column for Sky Sports:
"Mikel has said he is not happy with it and has denied it. You have to go with his word. The game has changed now, Arsenal is a bigger draw than Barcelona in my opinion. Five, 10, 15 years ago, you ask any footballer or manager in the world and they all wanted to play for or manage Real Madrid or Barcelona. That was the pinnacle of your football career."
The pundit added:
"But I do not think that is now the case with Barcelona anymore, they are an also-ran. They are not a big threat in Europe anymore and are well of the pace in the title race, while they got smashed again the other night [against Villarreal]."
"I do not see how they are a step forward, then there are their finances and you would rather work with Arsenal’s squad of players than Barcelona’s right now."
However, Arteta has already dismissed rumors of his exit from Arsenal.