Steven Gerrard ‘disappointed’ Arsenal beat Liverpool to £60m transfer deal

Steven Gerrard admits he was left ‘disappointed’ when Arsenal won the race to sign Martin Zubimendi after the midfielder was heavily linked with Liverpool.

Zubimendi completed £60million move from Real Sociedad to Arsenal in the summer transfer window, with weighty expectations placed on the 27-year-old given the size of the fee and his stellar reputation in Spain.

After arriving at the Emirates, Zubimendi quickly settled into life in English football and was held up as one of the potential signings of the season during a strong start to his Arsenal career.

However, some of Zubimendi’s recent performances have been called into question during what has been a difficult spell for Mikel Arteta’s side, whose imperious lead at the top of the Premier League table now stands at just three points.

The Gunners’ quadruple ambitions also went up in smoke thanks to back-to-back defeats in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

However, the north Londoners’ Champions League hopes remain intact – and Zubimendi held his own while back in his homeland on Wednesday night as Arteta’s men drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.

Speaking ahead of the semi-final first leg, ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville was among those to voice their concerns over Zubimendi’s recent form in an Arsenal shirt.

‘I thought at the start of the season that Zubimendi was a great signing,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.

‘He’s been a good player for Arsenal but right now I was expecting that this would be where Zubimendi would be the player. Who’s going to be the difference player?

‘I thought [Viktor] Gyokeres would get the goals for them in the big moments and get to 2-0. His lack of quality at the end was poor on that counter-attack. He’s got to do better than that.

‘But I thought… you think of what [Andrea] Pirlo is, or [Paul] Scholes or Rodri, Bernardo Silva – the player who can dictate play in a game like this, get Arsenal on the ball, organise and get them with authority and he [Zubimendi] is not demonstrating that.

‘He’s struggling in the games and he has been for a few weeks now. [Martin] Odegaard does it better.

‘Odegaard went deeper, but the problem is when Odegaard goes deeper, [Declan] Rice then goes deeper and Zubimendi is already deep. Then you’ve got three players, or certainly two in deep areas.

‘You can’t have that. You want them to be rotating with each other, and you want one back there to link play with the defence and the full-backs.

‘It felt to me today that Zubimendi, Rice and Odegaard got outplayed by that Newcastle midfield.’

Neville’s former England team-mate Gerrard remains a believer in Zubimendi’s qualities, though, convinced Arsenal have got their hands on a ‘really intelligent’ player at the base of their midfield.

Two years ago, Gerrard’s beloved Liverpool had appeared on the cusp on a deal for Zubimendi, only for the Spain international to pull the plug on a proposed move to stay with Real Sociedad.

‘He’s been given a really key role,’ Gerrard said on TNT Sports ahead of Arsenal’s draw with Atleti, just moments before kick-off.

‘At Liverpool, we were linked with for a long time, watched a lot of him on the back of that – [I was] disappointed that we didn’t sign him on the back of that.

‘Arsenal have got a fantastic player, really intelligent.

‘I think he’ll have a big boost being back in Spain tonight, back where he’s from. Arsenal need a big performance from him tonight.

‘[Antoine] Griezmann and [Julian] Alvarez like to come short so he’ll have to switch on, he’s going to have to be aware. At the same time, he’s got to connect Arsenal’s play. He’s got a pivotal role.’

Zubimendi has made no secret of just how close he came to signing for Liverpool a year prior to joining Arsenal.

The Merseyside giants had been in advanced discussions with Real Sociedad to get a deal over the line, but were ultimately left disappointed as the midfielder did not feel it was ‘the right time’ in his career.

‘It wasn’t an easy time,’ the Euro 2024 winner explained while on Arsenal’s pre-season trip to Singapore last summer.

‘I wanted to stay at Real Sociedad, but when offers come in, you start thinking about your options.

‘The first question I had to answer was whether I wanted to leave – and it wasn’t the right time.

‘I felt Real Sociedad offered me more opportunities and that I still had a lot to learn, so staying was the best decision.’

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