Mikel Arteta's response to Martin Zubimendi being 'unhappy' at Arsenal

Arsenal have no intention of cashing in on midfielder Martin Zubimendi in January, sources have told Football Insider. 

The Spanish star is understood to be “unhappy” with his lack of involvement so far this season, having started on the bench in every game so far. 

However, the Gunners have no intention of trying to push the 27-year-old out of the door this winter, despite his discontent at the moment. 

Sources say that Mikel Arteta is keen to keep his entire squad intact for the full campaign, as the club bid to compete for trophies on multiple fronts.

The boss believes that Zubimendi is likely to become more involved as the season progresses, and still intends to utilise the former Real Sociedad man. 

The midfielder made 57 appearances for the North London side in all competitions last term, but has been pushed to the fringes of the squad in recent weeks.

Martin Zubimendi a victim of Arsenal depth

Zubimendi caught the eye with some impressive performances in his debut season for Arsenal, but he has been forced to contend with a reduced role of late.

He has arguably become the latest in a long line of players to have fallen victim to the sheer strength of the Gunners’ squad, after another summer of work in the transfer market.

Big-money signing Bruno Guimaraes is ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment, while Arteta has continued to persist with Myles Lewis-Skelly as part of the central midfield group.

That has limited Zubimendi to bit-part minutes so far, but that is likely to change once the Champions League gets fully up and running.

Arteta knows that he needs a deep squad in order to achieve the club’s expectations across all competitions, but it is natural for that to cause some discontent.

However, unless Zubimendi looks to force a move away from the Emirates Stadium, then the club have no plans to show him towards the exit.

Arsenal in race to seal ‘complicated’ Nico Paz transfer

Football Insider revealed on Tuesday that Arsenal will struggle to beat Real Madrid to the signing of Como attacking midfielder Nico Paz.

The Spanish giants tried to sign the 22-year-old last summer, but ultimately agreed to let him stay at Como for another year, on the condition that a £68million buy-back clause was inserted for next summer. 

That clause is set to make it a “complicated” deal for Arsenal to strike, and also has Real firmly in the “box seat” to re-sign Paz at the moment. 

The only way for the Gunners to usurp them in the race may be to move in January before that clause comes into effect, but that would require a huge financial commitment in the middle of the season.