Real Madrid reaches decision on signing Arsenal star in January after Rodri mistake

Real Madrid have reached a decision on pursuing a move for Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi in January, according to reports.

The Gunners won the Premier League last season as Mikel Arteta guided them to their first title in 22 years, while they also reached the Champions League final.

Arsenal have improved their midfielder with Bruno Guimaraes arriving from Newcastle United and Christian Norgaard leaving to join Everton.

Zubimendi was a key cog in Arteta’s engine room last season but the Spaniard faded as the campaign went on, probably due to the demands of playing so many matches.

Guimaraes and other midfielders are expected to get more minutes than Zubimendi this season and that has so far played out in their first five matches of the season in all competitions.

Zubimendi has come off the bench in all five matches against Manchester City in the Community Shield, Coventry City, Aston Villa and Chelsea in the Premier League, while he also appeared as a substitute against Napoli in the Champions League.

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And now Sport claim that Real Madrid ‘are pulling strings to sign a midfielder in the winter transfer window’ and are ‘working to rectify its mistake’ after missing out on Rodri to arch-rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid ‘has begun to make moves in preparation for the winter transfer window’ with Zubimendi providing them with a ‘valuable market opportunity’.

The report adds: ‘In England, this possibility is already being considered, given that the Basque player has lost prominence at Arsenal. He has been a substitute in all five of the Gunners’ official matches this season. It was particularly significant that he remained on the bench for the crucial Champions League match at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples, where he only played for eight minutes.

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‘Zubimendi has been relegated to the bench since the end of last season. He was left out of the squad, for example, in the Champions League final against PSG, coming on only for extra time . Despite consistently performing well, Mikel Arteta has preferred other players in his position, and this could be affecting the morale of the former Real Sociedad player.’

Although Real Madrid ‘hesitated in the summer’ they now ‘might make the move’ after changing their mind on an investment of at least €70m after failing to bring Rodri to the Spanish capital.

Arsenal face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening as they look to continue their perfect start to the new Premier League season.

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