Arsenal scout La Liga midfielder in European action

Arsenal will be hoping to return to winning ways when they face Burnley on Saturday afternoon. 

The Gunners were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle United at St. James’ Park last weekend, with manager Mikel Arteta berating the decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s winner to stand.

The goal was subject to a length VAR check for a number of potential offences, but ultimately stood and earned the Magpies a huge victory.

Arteta’s side remain third in the top flight table, but will be keen to return to winning ways in style when they welcome the Clarets to The Emirates.

In the meantime, it appears that the North London outfit used the midweek European action to scout a potential transfer target.

As per 90min, the Gunners had scouts in attendance at Real Sociedad’s Champions League win over Benfica on Wednesday, watching midfielder Martin Zubmendi.

Zubimendi has attracted interest from Arsenal

The Spaniard played 90 minutes as Sociedad cruised to a 3-1 win over their Portuguese opponents, qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.

It is claimed that Arsenal are assessing possible options as they look to bolster their midfield ranks in January, however they could face competition to sign Zubimendi from Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Havng graduated from the club’s youth academy, Zubimendi has now made a total of 160 appearances for his boyhood club across all competitions.

Zubimendi, 24, is currently contracted to Sociedad until 2027 but does have a £43.6 million release clause in his current deal.

The report also claims that the Gunners were scouting Benfica pair Joao Neves and Fiorentino Luis, both of whom are of interest to the London side.

German clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were also said to be in attendance at Wednesday’s match, with the Bundesliga champions said to be interested in both Zubimendi and Neves.