In other circumstances, Martin Zubimendi could be at the center of a classic Premier League transfer tug of war right now. Months after Liverpool failed to lure him, Arsenal took up the chase, but January has now come and gone without an official agreement — yet heading into the summer, Anfield officials are little more than relaxed observers.

According to Football Espana, Arsenal remains "confident" of a deal for Zubimendi. But Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes would be the first to let his Gunners counterparts know that this can sometimes count for very little.

A summer move to the Emirates was seemingly as good as wrapped up by the middle of January, but Arsenal supporters may now be getting a little twitchy, with the transfer window having closed without a deal being struck. If the club is banking on assurances from Zubimendi that he will trigger his own release clause in summer, it must brace itself for a months-long campaign in his ear from the Real Sociedad hierarchy.

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Even so, this is surely the time when Zubimendi finally takes the next step, having been touted as a Premier League target for years. But having left the door ajar, Arsenal has risked becoming the latest to fumble his transfer.

Yet one thing is (almost) for sure: Liverpool will not be among the teams looking to muscle in on a deal for Zubimendi. It can afford to just laugh as Arsenal seeks to navigate all of the obstacles associated with luring a wavering Basque talent from his hometown club.

The fact that Arne Slot is not likely to pick up the chase is, on its face, quite surprising. After all, Liverpool elected to walk away from its pursuit of a holding midfielder altogether, rather than pursue an alternative, after missing out on a player who had been earmarked as the perfect fit.

But that decision paved the way for Ryan Gravenberch to take center stage. And while Arsenal frets about the future, with two midfielders in their 30s who are out of contract in the summer, Liverpool knows it no longer has to rely on the transfer market to be assured of the future of its engine room.

The fact is that Gravenberch is not only better than Thomas Partey and Jorginho, he is better than Zubimendi as well. By choosing to lean on Slot's talent for getting the very best out of his players, rather than resorting to Plan Bs and Cs, Liverpool has unlocked the "game-changer" it thought it might be getting when it put the Dutch midfielder on a list alongside Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni in 2022.

The numbers bear out just how exceptional Gravenberch has been this season. He has bettered Zubimendi in just about every relevant department.

In their respective league campaigns to date, Gravenberch has more assists and more expected assists per 90 than Zubimendi. He has delivered more shot-creating actions too.

Gravenberch has made more passes per 90, and made them more accurately: a mammoth 89.7 per cent completion rate, compared to 83.2 per cent for Zubimendi. He has averaged more progressive carries and more successful take-ons.

What about out of possession, the bread and butter of a holding midfielder? Zubimendi has the edge in tackles (although it's a different story over the last 365 days across league and Europe), and Gravenberch leads the way in interceptions by a healthy margin. Zubimendi has won far more headers, but when it comes to the percentage of aerial duels won, it's the Liverpool man who comes out on top.

In short, while Zubimendi is the ever-so-slightly more progressive passer (both are well above average), Gravenberch is either on par or better in just about every other relevant department. His unexpected emergence has blown all thoughts of the La Liga star from Liverpool minds.

And this is no straw man set up to make Gravenberch look good. There is no denying that Zubimendi is one of the leading proponents of the holding midfield role in Europe — there is a reason why Liverpool was so keen, and why Arsenal is now trying to close a deal.

That just makes it all the more impressive that Gravenberch has reached and surpassed those same levels, months after some were questioning the point of Liverpool signing him in the first place. Even his fiercest allies probably didn't expect he would be such a seamless alternative to Zubimendi, after a season under Jurgen Klopp where his best role remained elusive.

So there is something undoubtedly humorous about watching a rival take up the Zubimendi chase, and having a similarly complicated time of things. Arsenal will probably get the deal over the line eventually, but Liverpool can afford a wry smile — just like in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta finds himself playing catch-up.