Emilio is an experienced football journalist at Football FanCast with over six years of experience covering transfer news, the Premier League and the business of football. Since beginning his career in 2019, he has established himself as a knowledgeable voice in football journalism, providing insight into some of the game's biggest stories.  

After graduating with first-class honours from the University of Central Lancashire in 2019, Emilio began his journalism career at Snack Media, now part of Valnet. He has since written for several of the company's football publications, including Vital Football, The Transfer Tavern and Football FanCast.
 

Throughout his career, Emilio has developed an extensive understanding of English football, building trusted relationships with industry contacts that help inform his reporting. His work combines transfer insight with an interest in the financial and commercial aspects of the modern game. Away from football journalism, Emilio enjoys travelling the world and spending time in the boxing ring.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly dealing with some friction between him and a big-name member of his Gunners squad, with a January transfer potentially on the cards.

Arsenal’s narrow and gritty wins adding up in the title race

Arsenal have spent the first three months of their title defence winning the sort of matches that can make a good side look ordinary.

Hull City kept the champions out for more than an hour at the Emirates on Saturday, but captain Martin Ødegaard got to the rebound from Noni Madueke’s shot first and Arsenal had the goal they needed for a nervy 1-0 win.

Six of their nine league wins have come by a single goal, and those tight afternoons have helped put them five points clear of Brighton at the break.

The Seagulls beat them 3-0 in September, yet Arsenal have won every league game since and kept four straight clean sheets, including one at Anfield.

They’ve gone to Napoli, Bayern Munich and Slavia Prague without losing, picking up 10 points from four Champions League games. A Carabao Cup exit on penalties at Fleetwood sticks out because Arsenal have otherwise been so good at getting through awkward fixtures.

That run gives Arteta a freedom few managers enjoy.

He can keep picking the players who have put Arsenal on top and leave some of last season’s title winners waiting their turn, even when they have good reason to expect more.

Striker Viktor Gyökeres has been subject to reports of dissatisfaction over his reduced role this season, but he isn't the only one.

Mikel Arteta and Martin Zubimendi’s relationship strained at Arsenal

According to reporter Marcos Durán, the relationship between Martín Zubimendi and Arteta is 'currently strained', with the friction dating back to spring.

The two are said to have had disagreements as Arsenal closed in on the league title, around the time Arteta first started leaving him out of the side.

Arsenal signed him from Real Sociedad in July 2025, and for most of his first season the place looked like his to keep. He started the first 34 league games, only to begin three of the last four on the bench.

The Spaniard was also dealing with fitness problems during that stretch, and Duran gives no detail on what the pair disagreed over.

Arteta has picked him to start at Fleetwood and Slavia Prague this season, yet there hasn’t been a single Premier League start yet. His seven league appearances add up to 107 minutes, barely more than one full game, and that’s where Atlético Madrid come in.

Broadcaster Radio Nacional de España’s says members of Zubimendi’s camp visited the Metropolitano on Sunday, and there’s a potential way back to Spain when the winter window opens.

Arteta’s next team sheets could tell Zubimendi where he stands

Arteta can point to the league table if anybody asks why he’s reluctant to change his midfield.

Bruno Guimarães started alongside Declan Rice against Hull, and the blockbuster summer signing gives Arsenal another midfielder who can win a tackle and turn it into an attack before the opposition have time to settle.

There’s room for Zubimendi in a team that has already won four league games 1-0.

A midfielder who can take a pass off his centre backs and keep the ball under pressure is handy when the opposition are throwing men forward, but the danger for Zubimendi is becoming the player Arsenal call on for the last 15 minutes and little else.

Arteta will get a chance to show where he fits when Arsenal face Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund and Man City in nine days after the break.

A start in either of those league games would tell Zubimendi more about where he stands than any assurances about his importance to the squad.

Arsenal have every reason to keep that depth through the winter, but if he’s still waiting for league starts in January, the chance of regular football back in Spain will be harder to ignore.