Revealed: Why Arsenal paid £61m for Zubimendi - £9m above his release clause

Arsenal confirmed the signing of Spanish international Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad for a £61million fee on Sunday - significantly more than his £52m release clause.

Zubimendi, 26, signed a five-year deal with the Gunners, who were able to beat Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester City to his signature.

The Spanish international has long been courted by Mikel Arteta's side, who have finally managed to land one of their key targets. And it appears that his acquisition was so crucial to Arteta that the Premier League hopefuls were willing to spend over the odds to add him to their ranks.

Arsenal's willingness to go higher than the release clause in Zubimendi's contract enabled them to pay the transfer fee in instalments. Simply activating the midfielder's exit clause would have required them to stump up the £52m cash in one go - and potentially hinder their chances of signing other expensive targets.

A fact bolstered by the news that swiftly followed confirmation of Zubimendi's signing, that the club is in advanced talks with Sporting Lisbon over the signing of Viktor Gyokeres.

That deal is expected to set the north London side back £70m ahead of a make-or-break campaign for Arteta in the Arsenal dug out.

Furthermore, Arsenal are poised to make an offer for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke after the England international's representatives agreed personal terms with the Gunners.

Chelsea want over £50m for Madueke and in the process have made a tentative enquiry for Arsenal's teenage winger Ethan Nwaneri who has still to agree terms on a new contract.

Zubimendi's arrival will come as a huge boost to Arsenal's midfield, which has undergone a reshuffle following the departures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho.

The Spaniard, who will wear the number 36 at the Emirates, made 180 appearances in LaLiga for Sociedad after coming through their academy setup and has 18 caps for the Spanish national team.

Zubimendi told Arsenal's club website: '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.'

His arrival in north London will see him reunite with Mikel Merino, who also left the Basque Country for the Emirates Stadium last summer.

While MailSport exclusively revealed in January that Arsenal had landed Zubimendi, the LaLiga side did not want to lose such a key player in the middle of the season.

Their stance, coupled with Arteta's desire to sign Merino, explains why Zubimendi has only now joined.  His arrival will come as a significant boost to Gunners fans hoping for a first title in 22 years next campaign - following three successive second-placed finishes under Arteta.