Mikel Arteta may have found his very own Cesc Fabregas at Arsenal from an unexpected source within the squad.
The Gunners immediately returned to winning ways after their loss against Liverpool by comfortably defeating Nottingham Forest 3-0.
The international break did not impact Arsenal’s Premier League ambitions as Noni Madueke dazzled and Eberechi Eze proved what he can offer the Gunners.
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While Viktor Gyokeres’ appearance on the scoresheet was expected, the other goalscorer wasn’t, as Arsenal may have found more than they initially expected from another new signing.
Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, gestures during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield.
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Mikel Arteta is getting more than he bargained for with Martin Zubimendi
The signing of Zubimendi is something that many Arsenal fans were excited about, especially since Liverpool had come so close to signing him last summer.
However, most fans were expecting a tidy defensive midfielder who would play neat passes and break up the game when needed, but his performance against Forest proved he can offer a lot more.
The Gunners defeated Ange Postecoglou’s men 3-0, and despite Arteta’s amazing attacking quality, Zubimendi scored two of the goals.
He opened his account for the club with a stunning volley from outside the box and scored his second with a looping header to wrap up the game for his team.
Finding the back of the net is unusual territory for Zubimendi, as he had only 10 club goals throughout his career before today’s game.
However, the Spain international has proven that he’s capable of scoring in multiple ways, and Arteta could take that into account as the season goes on.
While he signed Gyokeres to fix Arsenal’s issue of not scoring enough goals, having contributions from midfield certainly won’t hurt their Premier League title aspirations.
Martin Zubimendi could follow in Cesc Fabregas’ boots
Zubimendi could become the modern-day Fabregas, who had an incredible career at Arsenal and was more than capable of scoring goals.
While Fabregas was best known for his incredible range of passing, which led to his total of 216 career assists, he was also capable of contributing goals.
At Arsenal alone, Fabregas scored 57 times in 303 appearances across all competitions, making him invaluable to the squad at that time.
If Zubimendi can offer anything close to that, he will have a more significant impact on the team than even Arteta himself ever expected.