Martin Zvimendi has formed a great partnership with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in Arsenal’s midfield as the Gunners aim to win their first Premier League title since 2004.
Arsenal star Martin Zvimendi is at the center of a dispute between his former club Real Sociedad and Antiguoco. The midfielder left Sociedad in the summer transfer window to join manager Mikel Arteta’s side.
There was interest from his home country courtesy of La Liga giants Real Madrid, whose idol Xabi Alonso took over as manager from Carlo Ancelotti at the end of last season. However, Zvimendi opted to join Arsenal, who shelled out £60 million to secure his signature.
The 26-year-old established himself on the international stage with an impressive performance in helping Spain win Euro 2024, but despite Liverpool’s breakthrough last year, he opted to remain at San Sebastian for an additional campaign.
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Zvimendi currently forms part of Arsenal’s midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, helping the Gunners move four points clear at the top of the Premier League after nine games.
However, The Sun reported that Zubimendi’s club Antiguoco had taken the matter to court. It is claimed they are owed £870,000 (€1 million) in the deal that brought him to north London last summer.
“Right now, our relationship with Real Sociedad is very bad,” Antiguoco’s technical director Roberto Montiel 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, we agreed that he would receive between 5 percent and a maximum of 1 million euros in return in the event of a transfer. We decided not to renew his contract because we felt that he had been treated unfairly by them due to this action.”
Zubimendi spent five years at Antiguoco before moving to nearby Sociedad, also in the Basque Country, at the age of 12. He returned to the club on short loan as a teenager and spent time at Antiguoco, the youth club set up by Gunners manager Arteta.
Montiel blamed Sociedad, adding: “They are bent on destroying us at every level. They want us to become more and more inferior. The Gipuzkoa state parliament has enacted a law that covers Real Sociedad’s ‘territory’.”
“This means that boys and girls in the under-14 category from towns five kilometers from San Sebastian cannot sign with us. In other words, boys and girls throughout San Sebastian and the surrounding area cannot sign with us, even if their parents wish to join us.”
“This could be interpreted as explaining that a kid from the outskirts of London cannot sign with any club in London up to the under-14 category. Insanity! Real Sociedad sold Martin Zvimendi from Arsenal, collected a transfer fee, and did not pay us our equivalent of 5 percent according to the contract.”
“Real Sociedad hasn’t said anything, but we have made a request in court and we will file 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 in our academy.”
“Another example of the bad relationship with Real Sociedad was last season. We were organizing an official event to honor the sporting achievements achieved by Martin, but Real Sociedad did not give him permission to receive the award. As a result of that decision, we had to cancel the event.”
“We have already agreed with Martin to hold an event at the end of this season. Moreover, I don’t think Mikel Arteta, the former Antiguoco player, will be a problem.”
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