Sheth added that loyalty to his Basque roots was one part of the equation, but crucially, Arsenal\u2019s early interest influenced Zubimendi\u2019s thinking: \u201cI\u2019m led to believe that Arsenal actually made their interest clear to Zubimendi last summer\u2026 I think Zubimendi\u2019s head was turned enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0.bmp\")
<\/p>\n
Now, with reports from The Athletic suggesting that a move to Arsenal is \u201cdone and signed\u201d, the saga has come full circle. But did Liverpool really lose out?<\/p>\n
Timing of rejection led to unexpected success<\/p>\n
Zubimendi\u2019s snub initially looked like a disaster for Liverpool. It left new sporting director Richard Hughes scrambling in the final days of the window. No signings had been confirmed, and frustrations mounted among fans.<\/p>\n
However, what followed was a shift few could have predicted. Arne Slot\u2019s bold decision to repurpose Ryan Gravenberch in a deeper midfield role paid off in spades. The Dutchman, alongside Alexis Mac Allister, formed a formidable pivot that drove Liverpool to the Premier League title with four games to spare.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/imago1061248443.jpg\")
Photo IMAGO<\/p>\n
Had Zubimendi signed, would Gravenberch have been given that opportunity? Or worse, would Liverpool have lost him altogether amid reported interest from Galatasaray?<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s long-term planning worked in their favour<\/p>\n
According to Sheth, Arsenal\u2019s move for Zubimendi was part of a longer-term strategy: \u201cThey knew the following summer, at least one of those two players [Partey or Jorginho] was going to be leaving\u2026 So it\u2019s proved so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gunners\u2019 planning and patience appear to have paid off. But as they finally secure Zubimendi, the question now becomes whether he can match the impact Gravenberch had for Liverpool.<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s midfield evolution justified the near-miss<\/p>\n
Ultimately, what once felt like a painful rejection now looks like a blessing in disguise. Gravenberch\u2019s rise to Premier League Young Player of the Season, Mac Allister\u2019s consistency, and Liverpool\u2019s collective success show that the club adapted brilliantly.<\/p>\n
Zubimendi may shine at Arsenal, but Liverpool\u2019s midfield looks strong without him. His absence forced a reshuffle that helped define the Reds\u2019 identity under Slot.<\/p>\n
Our View \u2013 Anfield Index Analysis<\/p>\n
From a Liverpool fan\u2019s perspective, the Zubimendi saga is now less about regret and more about resilience. Last summer, it seemed a gut punch to lose out on such a composed, intelligent midfielder \u2013 especially after reports claimed the deal was agreed in principle. But hindsight makes everything clearer.<\/p>\n
What Zubimendi\u2019s rejection did was force the club\u2019s hand \u2013 and in doing so, allowed Gravenberch to flourish. Fans watched the former Bayern man grow in stature week by week, culminating in a title-winning campaign and personal accolades. His chemistry with Mac Allister was central to Liverpool\u2019s balance and control \u2013 something that might\u2019ve been harder to achieve had a new big-name signing disrupted the dynamic.<\/p>\n
And let\u2019s not forget, part of being a Liverpool player is understanding the club\u2019s values, culture, and expectations. Perhaps Zubimendi\u2019s delay in committing \u2013 even if influenced by Arsenal \u2013 was a sign he wasn\u2019t entirely ready for that challenge. No hard feelings, but no second thoughts either.<\/p>\n
Let Arsenal have him. We\u2019ll take the Premier League trophy \u2013 and a midfield built on trust, hard work, and smart coaching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zubimendi\u2019s U-turn: A twist in Liverpool\u2019s summer In what once appeared to be a nailed-on signing, Martin Zubimendi\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[1647,1121,6167,75766,94,12116,763,17639,23497,11815,26198,12406,79,12117,16,15,75767],"class_list":{"0":"post-184923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-alexis-mac-allister","9":"tag-arne-slot","10":"tag-arsenal-fc","11":"tag-dharmesh-sheth","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-jorginho","14":"tag-liverpool-fc","15":"tag-liverpool-midfield","16":"tag-martin-zubimendi","17":"tag-premier-league-transfer-news","18":"tag-real-sociedad","19":"tag-ryan-gravenberch","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-thomas-partey","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom","24":"tag-zubimendi-arsenal-transfer"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114684281804780286","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}