Arsenal’s new signing Martin Zubimendi might have been a surfer or a top chess player, but instead he became one of the most sought after holding midfielders in European football.
The 26-year-old’s list of admirers and suitors as he emerged and progressed at Real Sociedad is impressive. Former Barcelona playmaker Xavi wanted him in 2023 when he was head coach at Camp Nou. Liverpool thought they had him last year. Real Madrid’s new head coach, Xabi Alonso, played a big role in shaping Zubimendi’s game — and a reunion seemed possible to some at the Bernabeu.
But Mikel Arteta pushed hardest to get Zubimendi and on July 6, Arsenal confirmed they would pay a fee of around €65million (£55.8m; $76.6m) to get their man.
This is the story of his rise and why he was so in demand.
Though many have admired and looked into the signing of Zubimendi, it is telling that it is the former Spanish midfielders-turned-coaches mentioned above who have rated him so highly.
According to former Leeds United, Malaga and Valencia coach Javi Gracia, it is because of Zubimendi’s specific mix of attributes, on and off the ball.
“As a ‘medio-centro’, you think about what the whole team needs, and as coaches we often especially like players who have characteristics that we had ourselves,” Gracia tells The Athletic. Gracia himself played holding midfield for La Real in the 1990s, and has closely followed Zubimendi’s development at Anoeta.
“For those who have been very top players — like Mikel, Xabi and Xavi — it can be hard to find players for their teams who can do what they used to do. Martin is a real team player, very honest, hardworking, generous and always committed, with quality in attack and defence.”
Zubimendi was born in February 1999 in San Sebastian’s quiet and prosperous Ulia neighbourhood, close to both the beach and the mountains. His mother was a teacher, his father a university professor of physical education, who also coached in semi-pro regional Basque football. “Sport has always been like a religion in my house,” Zubimendi told Diario Vasco in 2020.
After starting with his neighbourhood side Lengokoak, Zubimendi joined the city’s highest profile youth team Antiguoko, where Arteta, Alonso, and current Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola also played as kids.
Zubimendi played as Antiguoko’s under-14s beat Brazilians Salvador de Bahia in the 2012 final of the prestigious Donosti Cup youth tournament at Real Sociedad’s Anoeta Stadium.
By then, La Real had already shown interest, but Zubimendi did not immediately stand out as a future pro.
🌟 Zubimendi sigue coleccionando MVPs por Europa 🔝
🔝 Con la victoria de anoche, la @RealSociedad pasa a octavos de la @ChampionsLeague como primero de grupo 😍 Zorionak! 💙#donosticup #DCPlayers #Champions #zubimendi #realsociedad #mvp pic.twitter.com/ZPNKYeYwOl
— Donosti Cup (@donosticup) December 13, 2023
“Martin went to train with La Real for three years, as an ‘external’ player, but they did not sign him permanently,” Antiguoko president Roberto Montiel tells The Athletic.
“At ‘Cadete’ level (under-15s), he made a leap forward. Some other clubs showed interest, and La Real signed him then.”
At La Real’s Zubieta academy, Zubimendi’s progress was again steady rather than spectacular.
He debuted at 18 for Real Sociedad’s B team, then coached by Imanol Alguacil in the Segunda B (Spanish football’s old semi-professional third tier), but others were on faster tracks to the first team. The summer of 2019 saw Alonso take over La Real’s B team.
The former La Real, Liverpool and Madrid holding midfielder saw a lot of himself in Zubimendi — similar position on the field, background and personality and spent a lot of time teaching him different aspects of the role.
Sources close to both, requesting anonymity like all consulted for this article in order to speak openly, say Alonso saw Zubimendi almost as a “personal cause”.
“That (2019-20) was a key year for me, because I had not played many minutes before,” Zubimendi told El Pais in 2023. “(Alonso) spent more time with me than others, because he wanted someone in that position who could do the things he liked to do.”
After a year working with Alonso, Zubimendi was ready for the first team, which Alguacil now coached. When football returned following the break for Covid-19 in summer 2020, he won a starting spot as La Real finished the season strongly to qualify for the Europa League.
The following season saw Zubimendi established at the base of the midfield alongside David Silva and Mikel Merino. La Real won the (delayed) 2020 Copa del Rey final against Basque rivals Athletic Club in March 2021.
Zubimendi played alongside Mikel Merino at Real Sociedad (David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Zubimendi’s form saw him start for Spain at that summer’s Under-21 European Championship in Hungary and Slovenia (where they lost to Portugal in the semi-finals) and the Olympic Games in Tokyo, where they lost to Brazil in the final. Luis de la Fuente, who later became Spain’s senior team head coach, led both those junior sides.
The following September, in 2022, Zubimendi was the chief organiser in the La Real team that won at Manchester United in the Europa League group stage.
“Zubimendi developed in La Real playing most often in a 4-3-3, as the No 6, the deepest of the three midfielders,” Gracia says. “In possession, a lot of the team’s play passed through him — sometimes he would drop between the centre-halves to help start moves. He also took up positions between the lines to take the ball.
“He linked the team’s play together, kept it moving. Defensively, he could add solidity to the team’s back line when necessary. A very complete player.”
A new contract agreed in October 2022 set his release clause at €60m as other clubs circled. “Zubimendi is an extraordinary ‘pivot’,” Xavi told Sport in May 2023. “He controls the game, the moments, on and off the ball. He wins duels. He understands the model (of play) we like at Barca.”
Barca’s decision-makers viewed the release clause as too expensive for a pivot. La Real were delighted, and that autumn, Alguacil’s team topped a Champions League group featuring Inter, Benfica and Red Bull Salzburg while conceding just two goals in six games.
Although they lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, it was still a tremendous achievement by a group of players, many of whom — including Zubimendi, Mikel Oyarzabal, Robin Le Normand and Ander Barrenetxea — had grown up together under Alguacil.
Last summer, Zubimendi was part of the Spain squad that won Euro 2024, coming off the bench when Manchester City’s Rodri was injured in the first half of the final against England that Spain won 2-1. By that stage, it was Liverpool who were attempting to persuade him to leave home. Zubimendi thought long and hard before deciding to stay with his hometown club, leaving Liverpool feeling he had gone back on his word.
Zubimendi came on in the final of Euro 2024 against England (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
“My philosophy is to do what I feel inside,” Zubimendi told El Pais last October. “Every transfer window, different clubs are talked about, it’s normal. I thought that maybe the best for me was to stay at my club, look for personal growth.”
The Basque’s connection to his home city is clear. His apartment in San Sebastian’s fashionable Gros neighbourhood was a short walk from his parents’ house and the Zurriola beach. “My friends surf, but I don’t, I can’t because of football,” he told ABC in July 2024.
Zubimendi has also been studying for a degree in physical activity and sports sciences at the University of Burgos. Growing up, he was the Gipuzkoa region’s chess champion aged 11, and he still plays today.
“Chess gives me a lot of concentration, having things under control — it has a lot in common with football, as just one slip can cost you dearly,” he told Relevo during last summer’s Euros.
Real Sociedad’s 2024-25 season brought a clear end-of-cycle feeling. Merino (to Arsenal) and Le Normand (to Atletico Madrid) were sold last summer. During the campaign, sporting director Roberto Olabe and coach Alguacil announced they were also leaving.
It has long seemed clear that Zubimendi would also be on his way. Arsenal began actively pursuing a deal to sign him in January. Sources who know him say he believes he has proven he is ready to step up to the Premier League alongside regular appearances in the Champions League.
Arteta was a driving force in persuading Zubimendi to come to London. As speculation intensified in May, cameras caught La Real’s Basque coach Alguacil jokingly shouting instructions in English at Zubimendi (“intensity!”) during one of their last training sessions together.
Arsenal’s push to sign Zubimendi began in January (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Then Real Madrid hired Alonso in late May, bringing a potential late complication. Madrid have lacked someone to control games from deep midfield since Toni Kroos’ retirement in 2024. Zubimendi himself caused some suspense by predicting “a long summer” when asked about his future in early June.
He again showed his quality while playing both Spain’s Nations League games that month, scoring in the 2-2 draw against Portugal in the final. But although there is admiration at the Bernabeu for Zubimendi’s game, the club hierarchy did not actively pursue his signature.
Any doubts were ended when Zubimendi was in London on June 20 to meet Arsenal officials and complete the formalities of his transfer. It was announced on July 6 that the deal was completed and a five-year contract at the Emirates had been signed.
“When Zubimendi has played regularly for the national team, he showed what he has been showing at La Real for many years,” Gracia says.
“He has the physical capacity for the Premier League, where you need the legs to cover more distance. La Real’s style was also to press very high, so I don’t think he will have a problem in England.”
(Photos: Getty Images; graphic: Demetrius Robinson)
