Arsenal are the frontrunners to sign Martin Zubimendi this summer and the transfer would mark the latest chapter in Mikel Arteta's lifelong love affair with Real Sociedad.
Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Tuesday that talks over a summer promotion are now at an advanced stage, with sources indicating the deal is almost complete.
It would be the second summer in a row that Arteta has signed a player from Sociedad, with Mikel Merino signing a £31.6 million deal in August.
Sociedad is a club close to the Spaniard's heart and was born in San Sebastian, where the club is also based.
He started his football career at Sociedad's feeder club Antiguoko, where he became close friends with former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso.
The two often played along the area's beaches and gutters and harbored dreams of playing together in Sociedad.
Robert Montiel, one of Arteta's youth team coaches, recalled a demonstration of the then 12-year-old's prodigious talent.
In 2023 he told De Telegraaf: 'We won 5-0, but everyone who was there always talks about Mikel's run. From midfield he ran past six of their players. The goalkeeper just had to be beaten and he shot him over. But that run… wow.”
Alonso made that dream come true, but Arteta left for the famous La Masia academy in Barcelona at the age of 15.
However, he never managed to break into a first team blessed with the talents of Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
And the dream of playing for Sociedad became a reality in 2004, after two impressive seasons at Rangers.
He was brought in to play alongside his old friend Alonso, but the midfielder quickly left for Anfield that same summer.
It wasn't exactly a memorable homecoming for Arteta, who started just three games before joining Everton in January.
The midfielder would have much more success in the Premier League and it is clear that he has kept a close eye on things at Sociedad since joining management.
Following news of the Gunners' choice of Zubimendi, who came close to Premier League rivals Liverpool last summer, a social media post showing a Sociedad side from the 2019-2020 season went viral.
The squad included a midfield base of Merino and Zubimendi, with Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard, who was on loan from Real Madrid, in the number 10 position.
Odegaard was signed by Arteta on a permanent basis in 2021 after an impressive loan spell and has since become captain and the heartbeat of the Gunners side.
Meanwhile, the striker for the Sociedad match in question was Alexander Isak – another player the Spaniard is known to be an admirer of.
Isak was linked with the north London club last summer and speculation over a possible move has only increased given his stunning form and Arsenal's problems in the final third of this season.
The 25-year-old bagged a brace in Newcastle's 3-0 win over Wolves on Wednesday night to take his Premier League tally to 15 in 19 games. Isak, who signed a deal worth around £60million in 2022, will be extremely difficult to pry out of St James' Park, with Mail Sport exclusively revealing last week that the Gunners do not have the money to make a move of the Swede. in the summer.
He could end up being someone who got away for the Arsenal boss, but more Sociedad stars remain linked to the Emirates. The infatuation with the Basque club is not limited to its players.
The Gunners are currently looking for a new sporting director following the surprise departure of Edu in November.
Sociedad sporting director Roberto Olabe is one of the names on the list of potential candidates who has announced he is leaving the Spanish club.
Mail Sport revealed that Olabe is believed to be Arteta's preferred choice for the position.
Olabe and Arteta already have an existing relationship. It was Olabe who signed the current Arsenal boss as a player in 2004 during his time as Sociedad manager.
Talks are reportedly at an advanced stage, with the 57-year-old being praised for his role in transforming the fortunes of the San Sebastian club, now the favorites for the job.
The only question left for Arteta to answer is whether this quest to reunite will see the Gunners achieve their ultimate goal of winning the Premier League and Champions League.
A look back at how the 2019-20 Sociedad side performed will give fans some hope. In his first full season as sports director, Imanol Alguacil took the club from twelfth to sixth in LaLiga and won the Copa del Rey.
In the seasons that followed, despite the departure of Odegaard and then Isak in 2022, Sociedad has managed to maintain its position as a European qualifier, even reaching the Champions League last season.
But recreating San Sebastian in North London seems like a risky move. The players in question are undoubtedly of quality, but the respective clubs are a world apart.
A similar tactic has worked wonders for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, who have effectively built a Catalan diaspora in the north of England to welcome him in 2016.
The coaching staff including Arteta, football director Txiki Begiristain, CEO Ferran Soriano, medics and even a few former Barcelona players joined him at the Etihad.
However, and with all due respect to the Manchester City that Guardiola joined, the Cityzens were and perhaps still are a much smaller club than the five-time European Cup winners.
If Arteta wants to create his own Spanish haven in England, he will need all his recruits to improve their game to meet the huge expectations of one of English football's most prestigious clubs.
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