Arsenal close on SECOND summer transfer as Martin Zubimendi deal gets green light

Arsenal are closing in on signing Espanyol star Joan Garcia, with a deal for Martin Zubimendi inching closer.

The Gunners have endured a disappointing season and remain without a trophy since 2020. They have fallen short in the , were knocked out of the in the third round, were hammered by in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and saw Paris Saint-Germain beat them in the final four of the .

As , boss will be backed in the transfer market with a big summer spend to finally get over the line. The Gunners hierarchy are ready to launch a major squad overhaul.

Up to four major signings are expected to arrive at the Emirates Stadium over the course of the window. At the top of the shopping list is a new striker to finally solve their problems in attack.

First though, a long-anticipated move for Real Sociedad star Zubimendi is on course to be wrapped up. The Gunners' pursuit of the midfielder was started by former sporting director Edu after the Spaniard opted to snub a move to .

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It is expected that Arsenal will trigger the £51million release clause in his contract, with the 26-year-old to arrive early in the transfer window. The only worry is that , with

And a second player also appears to be on his way to North London. According to , the Gunners are 'close to signing' Garcia from Espanyol. They had pushed to sign him last summer, but that pursuit was ultimately unsuccessful, with the Premier League side now returning for him.

Garcia has impressed at Espanyol and has helped the Catalan side to a midtable finish in this season. But he has previously made it clear he feels ready to step up, with Arsenal increasingly likely to be his destination.

That satisfies another of Arteta's priorities for the summer window. The Gunners boss had been keen to sign a new No2 keeper permanently to compete and put pressure on No1 whose form has fallen badly in recent weeks.

The No.1 priority remains a centre forward with Arteta a huge admirer of Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. A more realistic target is Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyökeres, who is admired by Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta, or RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko who has bene closely monitored.

The Gunners tried to get Sesko last summer, but he opted to stay in Germany for another year. Arsenal subsequently paid a heavy price for not signing a striker with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus suffering long term injuries this season.

Arteta knows he must land a striker this summer and he also has a left winger in his sights, with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams on the radar. There is also serious interest in defender Dean Huijsen.

Players would have to be offloaded to get him in though and the centre half - who has a £50m buy-out clause - also has concerns about going to a club where his game time may be limited.

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