Liverpool was willing to pay the $70 million (£51 million) release clause that was written into Martin Zubimendi's Real Sociedad contract a year ago, but the player performed a last-minute U-turn.

Now, he has moved to the Premier League with Arsenal, linking up with Mikel Arteta.

Arne Slot's side, though it missed out on a good player, ended up winning the Premier League — and former winger Stewart Downing says it worked out for the best.

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"By not signing Zubimendi, Liverpool have ultimately saved themselves a lot of money," Downing has told Flashscore.

Arsenal and Zubimendi didn't particularly impress at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season

The Gunners won by a Riccardo Calafiori goal to nil.

Explaining the decision to reject Liverpool, Zubimendi said it "wasn't the right time" to leave his boyhood club.

"It wasn't an easy time for me because I wanted to stay at Real, but when offers come in, you start thinking about your options," he said, via ESPN.

"The first question I had to answer was whether I wanted to leave Real, and it wasn't the right time

I felt that Real offered me more opportunities and that I still had a lot to learn, so staying at Real was the best decision for me."

Liverpool.com says: Zubimendi is a very good player, but Gravenberch has excelled under Slot
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