Martin Zubimendi will reportedly join Arsenal at the end of the season (Image: GETTY)
are set to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi at the end of the season, according to reports.
The 25-year-old was linked with a move to the in the summer but ended up staying in Spain. It was reported that he turned down the chance to join , while were also credited with an interest in his signature.
Zubimendi was also tipped for a move to the Emirates Stadium last January but nothing materialised at the time. It seems he is finally nearing a switch to north London, though, with the reporting that he will join when the campaign ends.
The Gunners are set to formally trigger Zubimendi’s release clause of £51m (Image: GETTY)
The report states that a deal is ‘virtually completed’ with talks at an advanced stage. It is said that would like Zubimendi to join immediately but Real Sociedad have insisted on him staying until the end of the season.
He is thought to have a release clause in the region of £51million, which the Gunners have agreed to formally trigger.
has been widely tipped to sign a new midfielder with Jorginho and Thomas Partey out of contract in the summer. It remains to be seen if they will be offered new deals, with yet to make a final decision.
The north Londoners could also target a new striker before the end of this month .
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A loan is thought to be the most likely solution, but will need to look outside the with Neto and Raheem Sterling occuping their two domestic loan spots.
It has been reported that a permanent signing could be another option, as long as the value is deemed ‘fair and achievable’.
Arteta was quizzed on the possibility of adding to his squad in Monday’s press conference and said: “My answer remains the same, we are actively looking in the market to improve the squad.
“We are looking, we are trying. The fact that I love a lot my players, we cannot think about improving our players. We have to believe that we will bring in something that will make us better.”