Arsenal suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Gunners went into the game with some positivity following a late 1-0 win over Sporting CP in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
Manager Mikel Arteta made only three changes to the starting XI against the Cherries, but the Gunners struggled to replicate the midweek showing.
They lost possession regularly over the course of the game and eventually succumbed to a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Cherries at the Emirates Stadium.
There were several underwhelming performances, and we were particularly frustrated with Martin Zubimendi, who had a woeful midfield outing.
The Spaniard’s form has been a mixed bag since the turn of the year, and he probably had one of his worst performances against Andoni Iraola’s side.
The former Real Sociedad man completed only 76 percent of his passes with a long-ball accuracy of just 20 percent. He won only five out of 13 duels contested (38 percent).
The midfielder, who had 54 touches in the game, gifted possession on 12 occasions and was dribbled past three times.
Zubimendi was pretty slow with his decision-making. There was one instance when Viktor Gyokeres was livid at the Spaniard’s failure to pick out a quick pass.
The 27-year-old has endured a tough second half of the season and has looked physically hampered by the higher intensity of Premier League football.
Based on Saturday’s display, the manager must opt for a change in the number six position.
Christian Norgaard may not possess the ball-playing ability of Zubimendi, but the Dane has proved a valuable deputy with his solid defensive attributes.
The former Brentford man should get the nod alongside Declan Rice in the centre of the park when the Gunners host Sporting CP in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com