Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta explain why Arsenal signed Martin Zubimendi

Mikel Arteta has given his thoughts on the signing of Martin Zubimendi following his big-money move to the club. He and Andrea Berta were both speaking in the wake of the announcement that he had made the move to north London.

The 26-year-old has joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad after the Gunners finally succeeded in landing their long-term midfield target. Despite hopes of securing the Spaniard with his international teammate Mikel Merino last summer, they bided their time, saw off interest from Liverpool and Real Madrid and have finally got their man.

Sporting Director, Andrea Berta, said to the official Arsenal website: “We are so happy to bring Martin to Arsenal and have a lot of pride in finalising this transfer. Martin was a key target for us, and we all know that he is a perfect fit for our squad with the high quality he has.

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“We welcome Martin and his family to the club. We look forward to him settling in with his teammates and are very excited to see him playing in an Arsenal shirt.”

Arteta said: “Martin is a player who will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team. He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us.

“The standard he has consistently performed at over the last few seasons for both club and country is exactly why we are so excited to have him with us. We all welcome Martin and his family to the club.”

Zubimendi, who will wear the 36 number shirt during his time with the club, is believed to have met his new teammates. He will now join the group’s training regime, as players are due back in the forthcoming week. He will then head to a warm-weather training camp and then to Asia for the pre-season tour with games against AC Milan, Newcastle, and Tottenham.