After Real Madrid's withdrawal! Arsenal shock everyone with a decisive decision regarding Zubimendi

A double blow despite being on the bench

Arsenal's Martín Zubimendi found himself caught between two fires in less than 24 hours. Real Madrid closed the door on him. At the same time, the Gunners' management slammed the exit shut in his face for good.

Doubts had begun to swirl around the Basque midfielder after he started Arsenal's first two competitive matches on the bench, against Manchester City in the Community Shield and Coventry City in the league opener. Then the website "fichajes" revealed two decisive developments that shape the player's future.

The first came from Madrid. According to the newspaper, Real Madrid no longer place the 27-year-old on their list of targets. Long linked with Zubimendi, the Royal Club have withdrawn their interest and turned their attention towards other midfield options, shutting off one of the player's most important routes out of London.

London delivered the second development, and it was firmer still. Substitute appearances or not, Arsenal's management insist they have absolutely no intention of loaning out Zubimendi or selling him, and that every rumour about his departure is baseless.

Mikel Arteta backs the player to the hilt, justifying his place on the bench with a clear plan for managing workloads. "Our aim is to prevent draining his energy at the end of the season," the Spanish coach said. "We cannot allow a repeat of what happened when he arrives having played 55 matches. He has to think about how to raise his level to repeat what he did last year, but for a full 11 months."

So the picture is clear. Real Madrid are out of the race and Arsenal have closed the door. Caught between the two, Zubimendi will have to fight with everything he has to nail down a starting place in a squad packed with competition after the arrival of Bruno Guimarães and the huge faith shown in the young Lewis-Skelly.