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Zubimendi has played 236 times for Real Sociedad – his only club to date – and scored 10 goals.
But he is not a goalscorer, because he is primarily a defensive midfielder.
Real Sociedad played several formations last season, though mostly it was a 4-1-4-1 with Zubimendi as the pivot.
In La Liga in 2024-25, he ranked in the top five of central midfielders for successful passes, successful long passes,
Because the paperwork for Zubimendi’s switch has been completed all parties are relaxed about the scheduling of the medical, but there is a will to wrap up the formalities of the deal swiftly.
Once the 26-year-old passes the medical, Arsenal will be in a position to announce Zubimendi’s signing.
Zubimendi has a reported £51m release clause, with all payment structures between Sociedad and Arsenal already agreed.
Arsenal have been long-term
I wish I was a fly on the wall in the Arsenal dressing room at half-time on Sunday because I think a lot of the difference between their first and second-half performance was down to the kind of motivation from the manager that I am talking about.
It was the same at Anfield last week, when they were 2-0 down to Liverpool at the break and Arteta told them he
Not counting this season, there have been 91 times when a team have parted company with their manager while in the drop zone – and on 36 of those occasions they avoided relegation.
That is a success rate of 40%, so we know the difficult decision can work.
Of those 36 cases, five of the teams were exactly five points adrift when the manager left, like Wolves.
Sam Allardyce kept
Southampton were 5-0 down to Tottenham before half-time and frustration from some of the home fans was directed at both Martin and club owners Sport Republic.
Despite making nine permanent signings in the summer, Saints’ squad has been exposed in the Premier League, with the lack of goals and a porous defence.
“This is a very precarious job,” said Martin after the game. “I can’t sit here after losing 5-0,
Southampton manager Russell Martin says the club’s Premier League points tally so far this season is “incredibly hurtful and embarrassing”.
His team sit bottom of the Premier League table on five points.
Martin’s side have won once, drawn twice and lost 12 of their 15 league fixtures since earning promotion back to the top flight.
They have a goal difference of minus 20, having scored 11 and conceded 31 times.
Chief executive Phil Parsons led the transfer negotiations in the summer after director of football Jason Wilcox departed to become technical director at Manchester United.
Parsons’ previous experience was as an executive at appliance company Dyson, and Wilcox’s exit left a hole at St Mary’s.
Wilcox, who was instrumental in bringing Martin to the club from Swansea in 2023, has still not been replaced, with the likely scenario
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has returned to full training after two months out with an ankle injury.
The Norway midfielder, 25, has been out since September, missing 12 games, after damaging his ankle ligaments on international duty.
He trained with the Arsenal squad before Wednesday’s Champions League game at Inter Milan.
Arsenal have picked up just one point out of a possible nine in their last three Premier League games
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is set to be out for at least three weeks with an ankle injury, according to Norway’s team doctor.
Ola Sand said there is “probably no fracture” to Odegaard’s left ankle, which he injured while playing for Norway on Monday, but added that an absence of less than three weeks would be “just a bonus”.
Odegaard limped off during Norway’s Nations League win over Austria and
Slot has replaced Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager after the German, who led the Reds to the Carabao Cup and a third-placed top-flight finish last season, left the club at the end of 2023-24.
The Dutchman’s first Premier League game will be at promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday (12:30 BST).
“We are always talking about transfers but also a very positive thing that we kept our players and they are