Forget Martin Zubimendi, Arsenal must seal transfer for £60m midfielder who Pep Guardiola loves

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Arsenal are set to rebuild their midfield this summer, with Thomas Partey and Jorginho expected to leave the club.

Partey is attracting interest from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, and the Gunners aren’t likely to offer him a new contract at this stage.

Meanwhile, Jorginho was spotted in Rio on Wednesday, with the Italian reportedly close to agreeing a pre-contract with Flamengo.

These departures may mean that Arsenal need two midfield reinforcements in the summer, and Martin Zubimendi appears likely to be one of them.

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Arsenal should sign Bruno Guimaraes instead of Martin Zubimendi

Partey and Jorginho exiting N5 would leave Mikel Arteta with just Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard as senior midfield options at his disposal next season.

Emerging youngsters Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly could both feature in the middle of the park for the Gunners, although the former has demonstrated that he may be more of a forward long-term, while the latter has established himself as the first choice left-back.

Thus, additions will be required, and Zubimendi is already expected to arrive for £51 million from Real Sociedad.

A second signing will most likely materialise, although with a winger and striker also on the agenda, Arteta may have to settle for a young and cheap midfielder alongside Zubimendi, in the mould of a Sverre Nypan.

Arsenal have been heavily linked with Bruno Guimaraes, and the Brazilian is an option the Gunners should be seriously considering.

However, Arsenal Insider revealed this week that Guimaraes and Zubimendi are unlikely to both sign for the club.

This means that the imminent new sporting director Andrea Berta and Arteta will have to make a decision on which of the two players to pursue.

They should opt for the Newcastle man, who is only a year older and proven in the Premier League.

Zubimendi is enduring an underwhelming season at Sociedad, while Guimaraes has been one of the best midfielders in England for a few seasons now.

Reports suggest that Arsenal would only have to outlay £60 million on the former Lyon man if Newcastle don’t qualify for the Champions League, with this additional £9 million certainly worth it.

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Bruno Guimaraes’ statistics show why he’s better than Martin Zubimendi

Arsenal need a marquee midfield addition who can seamlessly slot in next to Rice and Odegaard, and Guimaraes is the man to fulfil this role.

Boasting an exceptional range of passing, whilst being equally combative and defensively secure, the Brazil international is better than Zubimendi in almost every facet of the game.

The San Sabastian native likes to sit deep and collect the ball from the centre-backs, but rarely impacts the game in the final third, while Guimaraes puts up impressive creative numbers whilst doing everything else on the pitch.

Pep Guardiola once described the Newcastle skipper as ‘exceptional’ (via the Daily Mail), and a glowing review from a coach of such calibre is an indictment of the player’s quality.