Arsenal are in the market for a number of reinforcements after coming up short in the title race and are already closing in on a deal for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi
Arsenal are hopeful of negotiating a deal directly with Real Sociedad rather than triggering the €60million (£51m) release clause in Martin Zubimendi's contract to make the midfielder their first summer signing.
The Gunners are gearing up for a busy summer transfer window after coming up short in the Premier League title race for a third successive year. And while the focus is on finding a quality No.9 who can plunder the goals Arsenal need to end their 20 year-plus title drought, they also have big plans elsewhere.
Mikel Arteta is keen to freshen up his engine room and a deal for Zubimendi, Real Sociedad's much sought after playmaker, is understood to be at an advanced stage.
The 26-year-old is known to have a release clause written into his contract - and nobody knows the process that entails better than the Gunners' new sporting director, Andrea Berta.
Release clauses are common practice in Spain to ensure compliance with employment law. For a club to trigger Zubimendi's release clause, either the player or his representatives - after being given the funds to do so by the buying club - would give La Liga the funds in full to effectively buy the midfielder out of his contract.
Arsenal went through a similar process back in 2020 when they acquired Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid, who Berta was working for at the time.
The Athletic have detailed how Atleti were only aware of Arsenal's interest in the Ghana international by the time La Liga had been given the funds for Partey to buy out his contract, meaning he was effectively already an Arsenal player. The club were left furious and privately felt that relations between the clubs had been damaged.
This time around, though, Arsenal are taking a different approach. They have made no secret of their intention to trigger Zubimendi's release clause to Sociedad and have, effectively, 'gone through the front door' to ensure they maintain positive relations with the Spanish club.
Talks have been ongoing since last summer with Edu, Berta's predecessor, making 'significant progress' over a deal. Negotiating directly with Real Sociedad also means Arsenal can potentially hammer out a more favourable payment schedule instead of paying Zubimendi's release clause in one large transaction.
Real Madrid are also long-term admirers of Zubimendi - who came close to joining Liverpool last summer - but the holding midfielder is expected to end up at The Emirates.
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