Martin Zvimendi deals with tense dispute between former clubs (Image: Getty)
Arsenal will be hoping to continue their good form as they face Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. Mikel Arteta’s side had a perfect October, winning all six games and keeping a clean sheet throughout the month.
The Gunners cruised to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Brighton in midweek, but face a difficult game against Crystal Palace in the last eight. This match may have to be rescheduled due to Palace’s tight fixture list, with four games played in just eight days. However, manager Arteta is reluctant to change the date. He said: “I don’t think it’s fair because there are other competitions as well. We have to try to accommodate that. At the beginning of the season, we knew which competitions each club would play in. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Here, Express Football brings you the latest developments at Arsenal, including the dispute over summer recruits.
Zubimendi embroiled in ‘very bad’ scandal
Martin Zvimendi finds himself at the center of a bitter dispute between his former club Real Sociedad and Antiguoco. The midfielder left Sociedad during the summer and joined Arteta’s team.
However, The Sun reports that Zvimendi’s former youth club, Antiguoco, have taken legal action regarding the transfer. They are reportedly seeking £870,000 (€1 million) from the deal that brought him to north London last summer.
The Arsenal midfielder signed with the club in the summer (Image: Getty)
Antiguoco’s technical director Roberto Montiel condemned Sociedad’s actions and claimed his club was being “abused”. “The relationship with Real Sociedad is very bad on their side at the moment,” he said.
“We had a contract with Real Sociedad until 2020. Since then, we have had a contract with Athletic Bilbao. When Zubi signed with Real Sociedad, it was agreed that he would receive between 5 percent and a maximum of 1 million euros in exchange for the transfer. We felt that we had been treated unfairly by them due to this action, so we decided not to renew the contract.”
Montiel further expressed his dissatisfaction, adding: “They are bent on destroying us at every level. They want us to become more and more inferior. The Gipuzkoa state legislature has enacted a law that covers Real Sociedad’s ‘territory’.”
Zubimendi is at the center of a tense dispute (Image: Getty)
“Real Sociedad sold Martin Zvimendi from Arsenal and collected a transfer fee, but they have not paid us the equivalent 5 percent according to the contract.
“Real Sociedad hasn’t said anything. We have made a request in court and will launch an administrative dispute to reach an agreement. They will maintain their position that they will not pay us money. That money is very important to us because we are investing that money in the academy.”
Future transfers are “required”
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has suggested Arsenal’s young prodigy Max Doman may have to consider a loan move in the future.
Max Dauman is Arsenal’s newest star (Image: Getty)
Despite being just 15 years old, Dauman has already made a huge impact at Arsenal, making his debut at the start of the season and also starting against Brighton.
During an episode of The Rest Is Football, Richards stressed the need for Dauman to find regular playing time elsewhere as he develops. He said, “He’s special, right? He’s special.”
“I think the difference I see with him is that normally you get thrown in at 15 or 16 years old because you’re physically developed. But he’s not, he’s technically developed and I would say that’s going to make him special.”
“He has 16:00 to 18:00 to continue developing at the same rate. And as Mikel Arteta famously said, he has to play too, because you can’t get 30 minutes here and then 90 minutes (there). Others are developing faster than you.”
“Maybe he will have to go out on loan. I know it might be too soon, but I don’t think he can go out on loan at 15 yet. He won’t be able to play.”
Co-host Gary Lineker agreed with Richards’ assessment, pointing out that Dauman has the versatility to play in a variety of positions for Arsenal but still needs more game time. He added: “But that’s not the case because he plays in the position that Saka is playing.
“He can play as a number 10, he can play on the other side. But I think the manager is making a mistake with the way he is making Saka a little more defensive and then allowing players to come on.”
“He’s not going to play ahead of Saka, but he needs to play to continue to develop. That’s my only worry.”
