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Mart\u00edn Zubimendi has dismissed ongoing rumors linking him with a move to Real Madrid, insisting his entire focus is solely on securing silverware with Arsenal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The midfielder, who arrived at the Emirates from Real Sociedad for \u00a361 million ($83m) last summer, says he is “very happy” in London as the Gunners prepare for a Champions League semifinal and a decisive Premier League clash against Manchester City.<\/p>\n
The Spain international was heavily linked with a switch to the Bernab\u00e9u before choosing Arsenal last July, and Madrid continue to be credited with interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to Cadena Ser, Zubimendi acknowledged that being associated with the European champions is “not a bad thing.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
His decision to join the Gunners was driven by the desire to compete on nights like Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Sporting CP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“That has passed,” the 27-year-old stated. “I’m very focused and very happy where I am.”<\/p>\n
The Gunners secured their place in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday night, navigating a tense goalless draw against Sporting CP to progress 1-0 on aggregate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Arsenal have only won one of their last five games in all competitions, but Zubimendi insists their “solid” base for success remains intact.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The last few weeks have been strange, but at the beginning of the season we would have signed to be in this position,” Zubimendi said. “We still have things to improve. We need more clarity in the last third. Luckily, this team defends well and we are solid.”<\/p>\n
A formidable semifinal clash against Atl\u00e9tico Madrid now awaits, after Diego Simeone\u2019s side dispatched Barcelona to reach the last four for the first time in nearly a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite Arsenal\u2019s dominant 4-0 victory over the Rojiblancos during the group stages, Zubimendi was quick to dismiss any suggestions of a repeat performance, citing Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s heavy investment and competitive edge.<\/p>\n
“They are a very competitive team, very confident, and have top players,” Zubimendi warned. “The group stage game is in the past; they are a formidable block now, and we have to be very cautious.”<\/p>\n
Arsenal’s current focus is now on a trip to the Etihad this Sunday for a match that could decide the Premier League title.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the Gunners hold a six-point cushion at the summit, Manchester City\u2019s game in hand and their recent Carabao Cup final triumph over Arsenal have shifted the psychological momentum toward the current leaders.<\/p>\n
“It is ‘do or die’ now,” Zubimendi stated, emphasizing the squad’s resolve to bounce back from recent domestic setbacks. “The unity of this squad is what will decide these games. We are focused, we are happy, and we know what we have to do.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY Mart\u00edn Zubimendi has dismissed ongoing rumors linking him with a move to Real Madrid, insisting his entire focus is solely on securing silverware with Arsenal.\u00a0 The midfielder, who arrived at the Emirates from Real Sociedad for \u00a361 million ($83m) last summer, says he is “very happy” in London as the Gunners […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}