Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta wanted Arsenal to sign a different No.6 than Martin Zubimendi in the summer transfer market.
The Gunners strengthened heavily in the summer with Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie all joining.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will have very few excuses for not winning the Premier League title this term after three years in a row of finishing as runners-up in the English top flight.
Zubimendi could be a key piece in Arteta’s jigsaw as he looks to bring glory to the Emirates Stadium but the Spain international could have been lining up for Liverpool if he hadn’t pulled out of a deal a year ago.
Explaining his decision to turn down a move to the Premier League a year earlier, Zubimendi said: “I felt La Real offered me more opportunities and that I still had a lot to learn, so staying was the best decision.”
On his choice to move to Arsenal, who have a growing Basque contingent at the club, he added: “It’s a different change for me. It’s the change I wanted. Since the first day I’ve been here, I’ve noticed the greatness of this club, and I’m adapting.”
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But if new Arsenal sporting director Berta had arrived a few months earlier, Zubimendi may not have been playing for the Gunners this season.
The Athletic have revealed that most of the deal was already in place before Berta arrived and the sporting director would have ‘favoured’ other candidates over Zubimendi.
The Athletic wrote: ‘Perhaps one outlier is Zubimendi. The framework of this deal was agreed before Berta joined the club. Had he been in situ earlier, there were other candidates for the No 6 role he favoured.’
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch admitted that Zubimendi – who gave away the free-kick that Dominik Szoboszlai in the second half – and Declan Rice were “really difficult to press” as the Reds beat Arsenal 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday.
Gravenberch told Liverpool’s official podcast: “Yes, in the first half, it was really difficult to press them.
“They always had a solution, and Rice dropped into midfield to join Zubimendi, so it was really difficult.”
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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was disappointed at the lack of creativity from Arsenal in their defeat to Liverpool over the weekend.
Scholes said on The Overlap: “Mikel Arteta has turned Arsenal around. He’s done a great job to get them to where they are now, but the question is, is he capable of taking them to the next level?
“We spoke about this with Gareth Southgate and England – he did brilliant taking them to finals, but we didn’t think he was capable of winning tournaments with England. Arsenal are not quite ready. It was a great chance to play your new players and make a statement.
“When I first saw the Arsenal team against Liverpool, I thought that it wasn’t going to be a team to go to Anfield and blow them away – they couldn’t create chances. They just signed Eberechi Eze – brilliant footballer – creative, Martin Odegaard – the most creative player they’ve got.
“They bring in a centre-forward [Viktor Gyökeres] but then they don’t play Odegaard. They had a bit of a negative mindset. I remember I had a go at Arsenal last year when they went to Manchester City and celebrated a draw, but I thought going to Anfield this year and getting a draw would have been a good result.
“Once Liverpool scored, it’s very hard to switch the mentality of going for a point then suddenly needing to create chances and going after them. They just couldn’t do it.”
