
Soccer-Arsenal sign Spain midfielder Zubimendi from Real Sociedad
(Reuters) -Arsenal have signed defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad on a long-term contract, the Premier League club said on Sunday as the club reinforced a key position weakened by departures last month.
Financial details were not disclosed but British media reports said the 26-year-old had a 60 million euros ($70.67 million) release clause at Sociedad where he had a contract until 2027.
Zubimendi is Arsenal's second recruit in the close-season after goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen a squad that can get over the line in the title race after finishing runners-up in the last three Premier League seasons.
"This is a huge moment in my career. It's the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are," Zubimendi said in a statement.
"I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come."
Zubimendi's arrival is a welcome reinforcement for Arsenal in midfield after Jorginho and Thomas Partey left at the end of their contracts last month.
Renowned for his mobility, his deep-lying playmaking skills as well as his defensive nous, Zubimendi will give Arsenal's midfield a measure of steel while also controlling the tempo in the role of a number six.
His arrival would potentially allow Declan Rice, Arsenal's player of the season, to play in an advanced role alongside skipper Martin Odegaard.
With Spain, Zubimendi won the European Championship in 2024, coming on for the injured Rodri in the final to help secure the trophy, while he also scored in the Nations League final earlier this month when they lost to Portugal on penalties.
Getting Zubimendi on board early would also give Arteta time to work with him in pre-season ahead of a tough opening spell in the Premier League next season.
Arsenal play Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United in their first six games of the campaign.
($1 = 0.8490 euros)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Wimbledon blames human error for a mistake by the tech that replaced officials. Here's what happened
LONDON: The All England Club, somewhat ironically, is blaming "human error' for a glaring mistake by the electronic system that replaced human line judges this year at Wimbledon. The CEO of the club, Sally Bolton, said Monday that the technology was "inadvertently deactivated" by someone for three points at Centre Court during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's three-set victory over Sonay Kartal a day earlier in the fourth round. On one point, a shot by Kartal clearly landed past the baseline but wasn't called out by the automated setup – called Hawk-Eye – because it had been shut off. Hours after Bolton spoke with reporters, the club issued a statement to announce that it "removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking,' meaning "this error cannot now be repeated due to the system changes we have made.' Bolton declined to say who made the mistake on Sunday or how, exactly, it occurred or whether that person would face any consequences or be re-trained. She did note that there were other people at fault: the chair umpire, Nico Helwerth, and two who should have let him know the system was temporarily down – the review official and the Hawk-Eye official. "We didn't need to put line judges back on the court again,' Bolton said. "We needed the system to be active.' Is Wimbledon using AI for line calls this year? No. But like most big tennis tournaments nowadays – the French Open is one notable exception – Wimbledon has replaced its line judges with cameras that are supposed to follow the balls on every shot to determine whether they land in or out. There are those, particularly in the British media, who keep referring to this as part of the ever-increasing creep of artificial intelligence into day-to-day life, but Bolton objected to the use of that term in this case. "The point I would want to emphasize – and perhaps contrary to some of the reporting we've seen – is it's not an artificial intelligence system. And it is electronic in the sense that the camera-tracking technology is set up to call the lines automatically, but it requires a human element to ensure that the system is functional,' Bolton said. "So it is not AI. There are some humans involved. And in this instance, it was a human error.' What happened on the missed call at Wimbledon? Russia's Pavlyuchenkova was one point from winning a game for a 5-4 lead in the first set against Britain's Kartal on Sunday when a shot by Kartal landed long. But there was no ruling from Hawk-Eye. After a delay, Helwerth decided the point should be replayed, which Pavlyuchenkova thought showed bias toward an opponent competing in her home country. With Hawk-Eye back up and running after a delay, Kartal won that game, but Pavlyuchenkova took that set and the match. The All England Club looked into what happened and found that the line-calling system actually was off for three points before anyone noticed. The system itself worked "optimally,' Bolton said repeatedly. "In this instance, sadly,' she said, "it was the human part of the operation that made a mistake.' Why was the Hawk-Eye system accidentally turned off during a match? Bolton said the system is shut down between matches – "and the humans are the people that need to do the activating and deactivating" – and someone accidentally did so during Pavlyuchenkova vs. Kartal. Asked why, Bolton responded: "Well, I don't know. It was a mistake, obviously.... I wasn't sat there, so I don't know what happened." She said Helwerth could have made a ruling himself on the controversial non-call, the way he did on the prior pair of points, but instead just decided to pause the match. "I'm assuming,' Bolton said, "he felt he had not seen it properly.' Pavlyuchenkova said after the match the official told her he thought the ball was out. What do players think about the use of technology at Wimbledon? Players are divided on whether there even should be electronic rulings during matches – unless it is fool-proof – or whether there should be a return to Wimbledon's old way of doing things. Since 2007 through last year, there was a combination of the human touch and technology: There were line judges on court to make calls, but players were allowed to challenge and ask for a video replay of a point if they thought there was a mistake. "It's such a big match, big event,' Pavlyuchenkova said. "Since we have already automatic line-calling and so much invested into this, we should probably look into something else to have better decisions.' – AP


New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Portugal's Euro campaign still alive after 1-1 draw with Italy
GENEVA, (Switzerland): A last-gasp equaliser by Portugal's Diana Gomes against Italy in a thrilling 1-1 draw kept alive her country's Women's Euro campaign when her strike cancelled out a stunning second-half goal by Cristiana Girelli yesterday (July 7). Le Azzurre thought they were through to the quarter-finals after Girelli scored in the 70th minute, shifting the ball to her right foot at the edge of the box before unleashing a curling shot into the top right corner that goalkeeper Patricia Morais had little chance of stopping. The 35-year-old Girelli fought back tears after the goal. But Gomes brought Portugal level in the 89th when a corner hit the bar and the team worked the ball back into the box for her to fire into the roof of the net, sending their raucous fans, who chanted and banged drums throughout the night, into utter delirium. "We were solid, we were brave," proud Portugal coach Francesco Neto said. "We played high, pressed our opponents, and played like a team in the European Championship. We're a team with personality and ambition." The draw spoiled Italy's chance of clinching a berth in the knockout round on Monday, with Spain the only Group B team to have so far guaranteed a quarter-final spot with their 6-2 win over Belgium in the earlier match. Belgium are eliminated. Italy defender Cecilia Salvai said the night was a mix of emotions. "On one hand there's a lot of regret because we could have won the match, but we also risked losing it," she said. "Portugal kept a very high pace throughout the match; we'll take this draw. We had chances, and sometimes it's a matter of centimetres." Italy take on world champions Spain in their final group-stage game, while Portugal play Belgium. The Portuguese were considerably better at the back than they were in their 5-0 thrashing by world champions Spain in their opening game, digging deep to withstand a barrage of Italian attacks in a breathless back and forth affair in pouring rain at Stade de Geneve. Italy, who defeated Belgium 1-0 in their opener, celebrated what they thought was their opening goal late in the first half when Morais mishandled Girelli's header and Emma Severini bundled in the ball, but elation turned to dejection when the offside flag went up. Portugal experienced a similar roller-coaster of emotions when Diana Silva thought she had scored in the 80th minute but the goal was chalked off for offside after a VAR check. "It's not easy when you're losing, then you score but it's disallowed, and then score again. I'm very proud," Neto said. One negative on the night was Ana Borges's sending-off in the 96th minute after her tackle sent Barbara Bonansea clattering into the advertising boards.


New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Relentless Spain reach Euro 2025 quarters after thumping Belgium
THUN, (Switzerland): Spain reached the quarter-finals of Women's Euro 2025 on Monday after the world champions hammered Belgium 6-2 while Italy were held to a 1-1 draw with Portugal at the death. A brace from the magnificent Alexia Putellas and further goals from Irene Paredes, Esther Gonzalez, Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina gave Group B leaders Spain a second thumping win. Montse Tome's team will win the group if they avoid defeat to Italy, who are two points behind La Roja in second after being denied qualification late on by third-placed Portugal, on Friday. Few would bet on Spain failing to secure first place after two blistering performances in which they have netted 11 times. "We knew they would try to sit back and hold us off at the beginning, we could have been better, sure, but you need to adapt during the game. We managed to do that and create good opportunities," Tome told reporters. "We have to improve but we did what we planned to do." Belgium, who twice levelled through Justine Vanhaevermaet and Hannah Eurlings, are close to going home after eventually being blown away by relentless waves of attacking football. They acquitted themselves well until Caldentey forced home Spain's fourth in the 61st minute, defending with grit and causing problems with some punchy breakaway football. "It was difficult because I really believed in what we were doing and I loved seeing my players give everything they had," said Belgium coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir. "I really think we gave them a game for at least 60 minutes, a really good game... I'm proud of them." When Putellas finished off a beautiful spell of quick passing in the 22nd minute it looked like the beginning of a thumping win similar to the 5-0 destruction of Portugal in the opening round. Yet seconds later Vanhaevermaet levelled with the simplest of goals, nodding home Tessa Wullaert's corner. Paredes put Spain back in the lead six minutes before the break with a bullet header from Pina's deep corner. Again Belgium hit back, this time through Eurlings who sprung the offside trap before rifling home in the 50th minute. Gonzalez netted her third goal of the tournament two minutes later after collecting Putellas' neat through ball. The game was up when Caldentey bundled home from a corner just after the hour. Pina smashed in her first goal of the tournament with 10 minutes remaining, and appropriately it was Putellas' deft flick which completed the rout shortly afterwards. On this form Spain look a class above the rest of the tournament and clear favourites to win the country's first ever women's European crown. Italy thought they were joining Spain in the quarters when Cristiana Girelli opened the scoring in Geneva with a brilliant curling effort with 20 minutes remaining. The Azzurre were saved 10 minutes later when Diana Silva was denied a leveller when she was ruled offside by VAR following her rebound finish from a corner. But in the 89th minute Diana Gomes lobbed home a leveller which gave Portugal a point and kept them in the competition moments after Carole Costa headed onto the crossbar. "It was a very tough match, open right to the end... a very open match against a Portugal team that gave everything," said Italy coach Andrea Soncin.s "It's a shame because we were in the quarters with a few minutes remaining but it's all still in our hands." Gomes' goal could be huge as Portugal, who trail the Italians by three points, face Belgium while Italy take on Spain. Italy currently have a goal difference which is six better than Portugal but with Spain up next a big swing is not hard that to imagine. — AFP