Arsenal have rejected an approach from Chelsea for Martin Zubimendi, according to reports.

Despite failing to meet Chelsea’s initial deadline of August 14, Manchester City have now agreed a £125 million deal to sign Enzo Fernandez on deadline day.

Chelsea have been searching for a replacement for the Argentina international and Xabi Alonso is a keen admirer of Zubimendi after trying to sign him for Real Madrid last year.

Zubimendi join Arsenal in a £60m deal from Real Sociedad last summer and made 57 appearances in his debut season with the Gunners as they won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final.

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According to The Sun, Chelsea’s approach has been ‘knocked back’ by Arsenal, who have told Zubimendi that he will play a ‘key role’ for Mikel Arteta’s side this season.

The report adds that Chelsea have also made an approach for Alex Scott, although Bournemouth have made it clear that they have no interest in selling the 23-year-old.

Speaking two weeks ago, Arteta made it clear that he wanted Zubimendi to remain at Arsenal.

When asked if the midfielder could be sold, Arteta said: ‘No, he’s a really important player. He’s a really important player for us.

‘Zubi without a doubt was one of the best players for Arsenal last season. Without him we would never get into the position that we got in the last few weeks and he deserves massive credit.

‘He deserves some credit from all of us, all the coaches, myself and especially his team-mates. We know that without him we would never reach the level and the way that we competed throughout 10 months.

‘At the end, yeah, he didn’t play that much. He still played some important minutes but he didn’t play that much. But no one can neglect the importance of what we did and how important he is for us.

‘So that’s something that’s important to comment because a lot of people end with the taste, ‘no, but this player played in the Champions League final’.

‘This guy did it for 10 months. Otherwise we weren’t here and we wouldn’t be playing in those finals. I think he deserves a lot of credit for that.’

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