Declan Rice heaped praise on Martin Zubimendi after the 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday
Matt C Jones
07:00, 28 Nov 2025
Zubimendi has made a huge impact since arriving at Arsenal
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Zubimendi has made a huge impact since arriving at Arsenal
Martin Zubimendi’s head would've surely been spinning.
A year ago, Liverpool were rampant. Top of the Premier League. Top of the Champions League group stage. Refreshed and refined by new head coach Arne Slot. A team seemingly destined to sweep all before them. The dominant force in European football.
And he’d turned them down to stay at Real Sociedad. Doubts about the decision would’ve surely crept in as he kicked around San Sebastian. Some regret may have simmered. It would’ve only been natural.
But now? Not a chance. Zubimendi is loving life at the Emirates Stadium. And the supporters and his team-mates adore him.
Arsenal, like Liverpool a year ago, have scaled the summit of two sets of standings. They are atop the Premier League with a six-point cushion and after a 3-1 win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the Champions League, they lead that competition too.
The Gunners are stingy at the back and have found creative solutions in attack. The determination of Gabriel and the quicksilver steps of Eberechi Eze have hogged the headlines. Declan Rice, such a colossal presence at the hub of the team, has dominated discussion.
But Zubimendi? There’s not been too much fuss. Not for a £60 million summer arrival.
Perhaps that’s fitting for a player who is so technically and cerebrally sharp that he makes complicated actions look so straightforward. Maybe it’s because his signing was long anticipated before eventually being confirmed in the summer. It might just be because he’s a holding midfielder.
Rice, who was named Player of the Match after the win over Bayern, clearly decided it was about time the Spain international got some love after the game on Wednesday though.
“It's been so easy to play with him [Zubimendi],” he gushed on TNT Sport. “We only signed him in the summer and usually it takes a while to build a connection.
“But from the first moment we had together in pre-season, I could just tell that I was going to play some good football with him.
“I just really liked him as a person and as a player. As the games have gone on, our understanding of each other has been outstanding. He's such a nice guy.
“He is the Spain no.6 and we know what Spanish no.6s are like. They are the best at first phase build up, turning on the ball and playing forward, playing into pockets and that is exactly what we've got with him.”
"We all trust him with the ball. If there is a player on you, it is just easy to give him the ball and we all feel so confident with him. He has been so good for us - an unbelievable player."
The connection has been instant. It was encapsulated in a moment that led to Arsenal's first goal against Bayern, when Zubimendi closed down Martin Laimer to win a corner. He geed up the Emirates crowd in response. Then Timber headed them home.
Rice’s role has clearly been transformed by the summer arrival. The England man is now settled as the team’s box-to-box battering ram, having previously had to straddle the duties of a no. 6 and a no. 8. He doesn’t neglect his defensive responsibilities, but he can take comfort from the presence of Zubimendi supporting him -- winning possession, carrying the ball, picking the right pass. Making it look “so easy” to use Rice’s own words.
And boy, could Liverpool - who have lost nine of the their last 12 games after the lamentable defeat to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday - do with a player of Zubimendi’s poise at the moment.
Twelve months on from their own stunning start to the season, the regret surely lies with their recruitment team, not with Zubimendi.
Of course, Liverpool’s dramatic drop-off will represent a cautionary tale for Arsenal, especially if the Gunners are to go on and win major silverware this season. Ryan Gravenberch, so slick as Liverpool's holding midfielder last season, looks a shadow of himself this season after a year of churn in English football's top flight.
But the development of Arteta’s team looks to be built on sterner foundations than those currently crumbling under the feet of Arne Slot.
The Arsenal squad has been expensively and meticulously assembled over many years. The robust defensive structure and instincts that have been cultivated have been built to last. There are a plethora of options in attack. There are high-class injured players to come back into the fold. Now the midfield has been stabilised and transformed too.
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That’s because Arsenal have the pivot who quietly pieces everything together. Because the Gunners did what Liverpool and other major European clubs could not quite manage. It’s because of Zubimendi.
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