According to FBref, Zubimendi looks like the ideal fit in the number six role, averaging 1.31 interceptions, 2.65 clearances, 1.36 blocks, and has won 1.64 aerial duels per 90 minutes in the 2024/25 La Liga campaign.

Liverpool reportedly triggered Zubimendi’s affordable £60 million ($81.3 million) release clause in 2024 only to be rejected by the player. That same summer, Arsenal bought his Real Sociedad teammate Mikel Merino and, as has now been revealed, greased the wheels for Zubimendi’s arrival.

The reshaping of the Arsenal squad is just one of the adaptations Arteta is making in his quest to end Arsenal’s wait for silverware. “The only thing that (the players) were talking about at the end of last season and the first day through the door is, ‘OK, how are we going to be better? How are we going to do more?’,” he said.