Real Madrid News
Arsenal manager closes exit door on Real Madrid-linked Spanish midfielder: ‘A really important player’
Real Madrid have been in the market to sign a new midfielder for Jose Mourinho’s squad this upcoming season.
The club were linked with a move for Rodri from Manchester City, but the Spaniard gave his preference to a move to Barcelona.
Since then, one other player who has emerged on Los Blancos’ radar is Martin Zubimendi, but Madrid never really pursued the Arsenal midfielder.
Now, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano, Mikel Arteta has ended the chatter surrounding Zubimendi’s future once and for all.
Arteta makes Arsenal stance clear
Asked about the possibility of Zubimendi leaving, Arteta gave a direct response.
“No, he’s a really important player,” the Arsenal coach said.
He then underlined just how highly the midfielder is valued in north London.
“Without a doubt, he was one of the best players for Arsenal last season. Without him, we would never have got into the position that we got into in the last few weeks.”
That leaves very little ambiguity around Arsenal’s position.
Madrid links unlikely to develop
Real Madrid have been linked with Zubimendi at different points this summer.
The Spain international is an obvious fit on paper because of his ability to control possession, organise build-up and play at the base of midfield.
However, interest only matters if the selling club are open to negotiations.
The key issue is not simply that Zubimendi is under contract. Arteta clearly sees him as one of the foundations of his team.
When a coach publicly credits a midfielder with being among the best players of the previous season and suggests the team’s success depended heavily on him, it is difficult to imagine the club voluntarily opening the door.
Despite Bruno Guimaraes’ signing, it looks like Arteta is keen on keeping hold of the Spaniard and will use him extensively this upcoming season.
Time for Madrid to move on
Unlike the way Los Blancos have operated this window with other transfer targets, there has been a lot of dilly-dallying when it comes to Zubimendi.
The club had discussed the option internally for weeks before concluding that he was not at the level to play for the Spanish club.
Now, it has emerged that even if Madrid wanted to move for Zubimendi, it was very unlikely that Arsenal would have opened the door.
It is time for Los Blancos to move on once and for all from the Gunners midfielder and start focusing on other targets.
After a month into the new season, Aurelien Tchouameni is finally back in action for Real Madrid.
The Frenchman made his first appearance of the season for the Merengues last night against Inter Milan after recovering from the muscular injury that delayed his campaign.
His return to fitness had raised questions over where he would fit into Mourinho’s plans.
Tchouameni has been a regular in Real Madrid’s midfield for several seasons under different managers, but the end of last season was far less straightforward.
His confrontation with Federico Valverde, combined with speculation over his future at the club, created uncertainty about his position. His lack of a proper pre-season also appeared to put him behind other midfield options.
Bernardo Silva had established himself as an important figure, while Eduardo Camavinga was also ahead of Tchouameni in terms of match fitness.
With Real Madrid looking for greater creativity in midfield, there were questions over whether the Frenchman would still be a first-choice player.
Key for Mourinho
According to AS (h/t Bernabeu Digital), however, Mourinho has no such doubts. Tchouameni remains a key player for the Portuguese coach and is expected to be a starter.
Mourinho sees the French international as a midfielder without a direct replacement in the squad.
For Jose, Tchouameni provides something that none of the other midfielders in the squad do – a more defensive and positional presence, combining his tactical discipline with considerable physical strength.
His ability to shield the defence and provide balance could be particularly important for a Real Madrid side that want to defend aggressively and attack quickly in transition.
For that reason, his absence at the start of the campaign has not changed the manager’s view of his importance.
Mourinho faces a midfield selection problem
The challenge for Mourinho now is finding a way to fit all the pieces together.
If Tchouameni is guaranteed a starting position and Valverde is considered untouchable as captain, the obvious consequence is that Bernardo could find himself starting from the bench.
The summer arrival had been given an important role in helping Real Madrid control and distribute possession from deeper positions.
However, with Tchouameni and Valverde both occupying midfield places, Mourinho cannot accommodate everyone in the same lineup.
How the Portuguese coach manages that competition will be interesting to see in the coming weeks.
