Arteta says Zubimendi turned down offers
Mikel Arteta is delighted Martin Zubimendi chose Arsenal despite having "some good opportunities" on offer to him.
Zubimendi is one of four new Arsenal signings this transfer window and put pen to paper on a long-term contract after joining from Real Sociedad, with the deal reportedly worth £60m.
The Spaniard had turned down the chance to join Liverpool last year, while Real Madrid were reportedly interested in his signature before Arsenal secured the deal.
In 36 league appearances last season, Zubimendi attempted 1,752 passes and completed 1,479, with 321 of his successful passes ending in the final third.
Those first two figures were team-highs for La Real as they finished 11th, while only Takefusa Kubo bettered the latter total.
Arteta has already been impressed with what he has seen from Zubimendi in pre-season training.
"It was a long, long process," Arteta said of the Zubimendi transfer. "He had a lot of opportunities to decide whether he wanted to come.
"The good news is that this club is amazing, and everybody wants to come to it. He left some very good opportunities to come to us.
"We are all very impressed with what we've seen in the last seven to ten days. Once you have the player daily there, and you see his character, his personality, his intelligence, and how much he's going to bring to the team. I'm very excited about it."
Noni Madueke is the latest transfer through the doors at the Emirates and is the most recent addition from London rival Chelsea, following behind Kepa Arrizabalaga earlier this month.
The likes of Kai Havertz, Jorginho and Raheem Sterling, on loan, have made the same move in recent years, but Arteta said it is simply a coincidence and not a transfer strategy.
"It's probably because they have some great players and a lot of players!" he joked.
"But we try to focus on the players that we want to sign, regardless of the club they are in. It's probably a coincidence. What is not a coincidence is the squad and the quality of the squad.
"With Noni, I'm very, very excited. You've seen the reaction of all the players as well, especially the ones who know him very well.
"He needs a little bit of a break now, but he will be with us soon, showing what he's going to bring to the team."
