Bayern Munich are scared that Arsenal will hijack the move for their top summer target, Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad.

Christian Falk of BILD reports to CaughtOffside that Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is Bayern Munich’s top target for the summer transfer, even edging ahead of Fulham’s Joao Palhinha.

But whilst Bayern are pushing hard for the transfer, they’ve heard that Mikel Arteta is already talking to the player too.

Bayern were reportedly very sure they’d lead the race for Zubimendi this summer, but they’re now afraid of Arsenal and afraid Arteta will take their top target away.

Earlier this week, a few rumours suggested Zubimendi was on the verge of accepting an offer to join Arsenal in the summer, but various outlets have now refuted those claims.

Spanish outlet Marca write that Zubimendi’s arrival at Arsenal is far from imminent, whilst Fabizio Romano reports that nothing is decided yet.

Romano adds that Zubimendi is indeed one of the players on Arsenal’s shortlist, among others, but there are various obstacles to a potential deal.

For a start, Zubimendi remains very happy with his current club, and he’s focusing on their goals for the season.

On top of that, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona are reportedly interested in the midfielder.

Zubimendi certainly isn’t set for a move in the next week, with Football.London’s Kaya Kaynak reporting that the midfielder is “highly unlikely” to join Arsenal this month.

Kaynak confirms that Zubimendi is among the targets Arsenal have looked at for midfield reinforcements, but a deal would be difficult financially and in light of the player’s desire to see out the season in Spain.

David Ornstein recently reported for The Athletic that Arsenal explored the idea of signing Zubimendi 12 months ago, and their interest in him remains strong.

The player has a €60m (£51.4m) release clause in his contract, so a summer deal wouldn’t be too outlandish from a financial perspective.