Real Madrid have reportedly made a “big mistake” regarding Arsenal star Martin Zvimendi, who joined the Premier League giants in the summer.
Zvimendi has emerged as one of Europe’s best defensive midfielders in recent years and has attracted strong interest from clubs in recent years.
During the 2024 summer transfer window, Zvimendi looked likely to join Liverpool, but ultimately decided not to leave and remained at Real Sociedad for another year.
It was then widely reported that the Spain international would join Arsenal in the summer transfer window, with Liverpool and Real Madrid at the front of the deal queue.
Arsenal ultimately secured the deal for around £60m, but set the price higher than his £51m termination fee to allow them to spread the payment.
Read: Top 10 Premier League players this season: Xhaka and Zvimendi stress importance of number six
Unsurprisingly, Zvimendi has been hugely successful for Arsenal this season and former La Liga star Javier Casquero believes Real Madrid should have signed him.
“It is a big mistake that Martin Zvimendi is not at Real Madrid,” Casquero said in an interview with Marca.
In a recent interview with AS, Zvimendi revealed why he chose to sign with Arsenal over other clubs.
Zvimendi said:
“When I decided to leave Sociedad, Arsenal were the right team for me, as far as I could see, especially in terms of play.
“I also wanted a manager with great attention to detail and in Mikel I found him as soon as I spoke to him.
“Arsenal had a very young team, they had passion, they were very close-knit and they were keen to win. Even if they didn’t achieve that, that makes them even more motivated.”
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Zvimendi added: “I can’t talk about other teams.
“Arsenal was the team I had decided on, so I gave it my all.”
Zvimendi also broke down the differences between playing in Spain and England.
“The mentality is, be a man, hit hard. It’s more direct,” Zvimendi admitted.
“In Spain, it’s important to keep the ball once you win it, but (in England) you go on the attack as soon as you win the ball. Transitions are inevitable, but they’re difficult to control.”
“But it (handling) is not a matter of ability per se, it’s about getting the mind used to it. It’s different from La Liga, but what struck me the most was the dead ball and how important it is.”
“We see a lot of goals from there and it’s often the first goal of the game. We have a set-piece coach and we work on that almost every day.”
