Arsenal are close to finalizing the acquisitions of Martin Zubimendi and Kepa Arrizabalaga, and both players are expected to report for pre-season preparations in the coming week.
Charles Watts mentioned on his YouTube channel that announcements confirming these signings are anticipated by the end of the week at the latest, with the possibility that they could arrive even sooner.
He also explained that Arsenal’s pre-season training is scheduled to kick off next week, and the intention is for Zubimendi and Kepa to be involved from the very beginning with their new squad.
The club’s preference was to have the transfers officially confirmed in advance so they could freely produce and share media coverage of the pair integrating into training alongside their teammates.
Over the past weekend, Zubimendi made his way to London to complete the final steps of his move, with Arsenal agreeing to pay a bit more than his €60 million release clause so they could spread the cost in instalments.
Instead of handing over €60 million in one lump sum, the Gunners opted for a payment structure totaling about €66 million (approximately £56.5 million) over several years.
It’s believed that Arsenal and Real Sociedad chose to wait until July to make the deal public, partly for accounting reasons to ensure the expenditure fell into the 2025/26 financial year. With July underway, there’s no remaining justification for further postponement.
Kepa’s transfer has been wrapped up more recently, with Arsenal finalizing the legal details only in the last week or so, which explains the slight delay in completing paperwork and preparing announcement materials. He joins from Chelsea after triggering his £5 million release clause and is set to compete with David Raya for the starting goalkeeper role in the upcoming season.
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