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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is reluctant to lose one of his biggest stars, even as Real Madrid continue to show interest.

Arsenal could bring in a club-record fee for one member of their squad, but there is a complication: they are not looking to sell.

The Gunners made an impressive start to the Premier League on Friday night, playing with far greater freedom and expression than Arsenal supporters had become used to last season, as they took on newly-promoted Coventry City.

However, with the transfer window set to close next week, Arteta may yet be forced to part with a player he wants to retain, and one he also used on the opening day of the season.

Martin Zubimendi has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Arsenal ever since the Gunners signed Bruno Guimaraes for the same role, especially as Real Madrid had been eager to land the midfielder before he completed his switch to North London last summer.

Los Blancos missed out on Rodri earlier this summer, and Spanish outlet Fichajes has now passed on information from journalist Tomas Gonzalez Martin claiming that Arsenal have put a £100 million valuation on Zubimendi. That figure is more than £60m higher than Arsenal have ever received for a player, with the 15-time European champions viewing him as a deep-lying playmaker for manager Jose Mourinho's midfield.

According to the report, “Zubimendi would be willing to play for Real Madrid, but [Madrid president] Florentino Perez is not considering making the move for that amount.”

Arteta, meanwhile, has publicly insisted that Arsenal will not let the 27-year-old leave, recently describing him as an “important player”.

“Without a doubt, he was one of the best players for Arsenal last season,” the Gunners manager said about his fellow Basque, before adding, “Without him, we would never have got into the position that we got into in the last few weeks”.

Zubimendi started 34 of Arsenal's 38 league matches during their Premier League title-winning season, while featuring from the bench in the other four. He also started 11 of the club's 14 Champions League games, underlining his importance to his new side and becoming a central figure in Arteta's reshaped midfield.

Yet although the No.36 began life strongly this season — even scoring a brace in only his fourth Arsenal appearance against Nottingham Forest — Zubimendi faded towards the closing stages of the campaign and lost his place in midfield to Hale End product Myles Lewis-Skelly.

FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal would only think about allowing Zubimendi to leave if the offer is right, with Arteta keen to have depth in midfield this season as the club aims to challenge on four fronts.

New arrival Guimaraes missed the first game of the campaign because of a knock, while Declan Rice has been dealing with injury and fatigue in recent months, which means Zubimendi could still have a much bigger role than may be immediately apparent.

The World Cup winner is valued at €75m, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal are next in Premier League action against Aston Villa next week.