Liverpool reportedly triggered Zubimendi’s affordable £60 million ($81.3 million) release clause in 2024 only to be rejected by the player. That same summer, Arsenal bought his Real Sociedad teammate Mikel Merino and, as has now been revealed, greased the wheels for Zubimendi’s arrival.

Arsenal have been one of the busiest clubs in the transfer window so far, and it appears Mikel Arteta's side have done a chunk of their business while negating one of their biggest self-imposed rules

The reshaping of the Arsenal squad is just one of the adaptations Arteta is making in his quest to end Arsenal’s wait for silverware. “The only thing that (the players) were talking about at the end of last season and the first day through the door is, ‘OK, how are we going to be better? How are we going to do more?’,” he said.