Arsenal struck gold on big-money star who's worth way more than Zubimendi

There is less than a week to go until the transfer window slams shut, and so far, Arsenal have signed no one.

Mikel Arteta’s side are still just about in the Premier League title race and going strong in the Champions League, but with significant injuries to key players like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, attacking reinforcements are a necessity.

Now, there has been a constant stream of links to top strikers such as Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, but so far the only player who looks likely to sign on the dotted line before February 3rd is Norwegian wonderkid Sverre Nypan.

However, just because nobody has joined the club this month doesn’t mean the recruitment team have been doing nothing, as a couple of weeks ago it was revealed by Sami Mokbel that Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi looks set to join the club in the summer, although even at £51m, he’ll be worth millions less than one of his new teammates.

Why Arsenal want Martin Zubinmendi

Now, it would be fair to say that, on the surface, midfield reinforcements don’t look like a pressing matter at the moment.

However, when you take into account the fact that the contracts for both Thomas Partey and Jorginho are set to expire in the summer, things start to look very different.

So, with the need for more bodies in the middle of the park clear, why have the club supposedly identified and committed to spending so much on Zubimendi of all players?

Well, one of the key benefits to signing the Spanish international is that he appears to be more than capable of playing as a traditional number six as well as an eight, thus giving Arteta more flexibility when setting up his teams, and as we now know, he loves players who can play more than one role.

However, versatility is not the only skill the San Sabastian-born maestro possesses, as he showed in the European Championships final last summer that he’s more than capable of controlling a game against some of the best attackers in the world when he had to come on for the injured Rodri at half-time.

The 25-year-old didn’t put a foot wrong and more than justified manager Luis de la Fuente’s pre-tournament claim that the La Real star is one of the “best central midfielders in the world.”

It wasn’t a one-off either, with respected analyst Ben Mattinson describing the 25-year-old’s “superpower trait” as the fact that he “doesn’t do much wrong” and has “near-perfect decision-making.”

With that said, even at £51m, Zubimendi would not be close to the valuation of one of his potential teammates at Arsenal.

The Arsenal star worth millions more than Zubimendi

So, to get straight to the point, the Arsenal star in question is none other than Declan Rice, who became the Gunners’ record signing in the summer of 2023 when he joined the club from West Ham United for a staggering £105m.

Now, even though that is an enormous amount of money for a player, he is actually worth even more today, with FOTMOB now valuing him at a whopping €130m, which is about £109m, or £58m more than Zubimendi is set to cost.

That might sound like an outrageously high price tag, but aside from a few lacklustre games earlier this season, it would be hard to say that the Englishman has not been worth his initial fee and is undeserving of this new valuation.

For example, since joining the club, the midfield monster, whom journalist Sam Dean described as “a different beast,” has made 81 appearances, played in three positions, scored ten goals and provided 15 assists.

Moreover, on top of hoovering up everything in the midfield, the 26-year-old has become incredibly adept at marauding through the middle of the pitch with the ball at his feet and has become a world-class corner taker to boot.

Finally, while Martin Odegaard remains the club captain, it’s impossible to ignore the leadership role that the 62-capped Englishman has taken on in the team, with Arteta often asking him to relay information from the sidelines and reports emerging that he has taken the exciting Max Dowman under his wing during training.

Ultimately, Arsenal should absolutely be confirming the Zubimendi deal as soon as possible, but he’ll have to reach utterly sensational levels at the Emirates to see his valuation get anywhere close to Rice’s.

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