Arsenal come into a colossal week for Mikel Arteta. Talks surrounding a new contract for the Gunners boss are ongoing but should he face defeat against Manchester City and lose to Sporting on Wednesday, it would be disastrous, potentially even worthy of the sack if they go on to miss out on the title.
The Spaniard is arguably in the most tense environment of his entire managerial career with the north Londoners losing three of their last four games.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Before that moment, they had only lost three of their 49 matches all season long. Yeah, they're in a difficult moment, that's for sure.
That said, Arteta has not helped himself. The slow and unattractive football has led to doubters among the fanbase and last summer's recruitment is also being called into question.
Martin Zubimendi is at the heart of that right now.
What's going wrong for Zubimendi at Arsenal
As Jamie Carragher put it on Sky Sports this week, Zubimendi is "having a really rough time in midfield".
Why? Well, his confidence looks shot to bits and he's simply played too many minutes in his debut campaign in English football.
martin-zubimendi-arsenal
Signed from Real Sociedad last summer, the Spaniard hit the ground running well in the opening months of the campaign. There is a reason he has played the most minutes of any outfield player in the entire squad this term.
It looks as though that is finally catching up with him now. but it does not excuse the lack of technical ability from supposedly one of Spain's elite midfielders.
Minutes played by Arsenal players in 25/26
Player
1) David Raya
2) Martin Zubimendi
3) Declan Rice
4) William Saliba
5) Gabriel
6) Jurrien Timber
7) Viktor Gyokeres
8) Bukayo Saka
When you think of a Spanish midfielder, you think of technical security. You think of poise, you think of grace, you think of class. Initially, Zubimendi ticked those boxes. Yet, in recent weeks, he certainly has not.
Not only is he struggling to evade the press but he's costing Arsenal big time when it comes to playing out from the back progressively.
Zubimendi-Arsenal
In the build-up to the first Bournemouth goal, it was arguably the summer arrival who was at fault. David Raya played the ball to his fellow countryman and instead of playing a simple pass into Ben White, he played it straight out of play from a throw-in.
From that concession of the ball, the Cherries went on to open the scoring through Eli Kroupi Jr.
It's not the first time that has happened this season. Against Spurs in the first north London derby of the season, Zubimendi gave the ball away before Richarlison netted a long-range effort. Against Manchester United at the Emirates, the 27-year-old gifted possession away again, leading to Bryan Mbeumo scoring.
He's becoming a huge problem for Arsenal, but he's arguably not the biggest.
Zubimendi-Calafiori-Gabriel-Odegaard-Arsenal Related
Arsenal can drop Zubimendi by unleashing the modern-day Vieira in new role
Arsenal need to make a change to their midfield this week.
Arsenal have a bigger problem than Zubimendi
Signing Zubimendi this summer made perfect sense. With Thomas Partey and Jorginho leaving the capital behind at the conclusion of their contracts, the Gunners needed to sign a midfielder or two.
Jorginho-Arsenal
That said, was he really worth £60m? On the evidence of recent displays, particularly against Bournemouth, certainly not.
The same can be said of the £52m spent on Noni Madueke. While Zubimendi was required, Madueke arguably was not.
Arsenal have long needed depth for Bukayo Saka. We've seen this season that the sheer amount of football that the wide player has played during the Arteta era has caught up with him. He's having one of his least productive campaigns yet, missing 11 games through injury and only scoring six Premier League goals.
Bukayo-Saka-Arsenal (2)
So, in that regard, having Madueke has been rather helpful. Yet, this is a player who is arguably no better than a certain Nicolas Pepe.
The Ivorian was torn to shreds during his time with Arsenal. Signed for £72m, he eventually left on a free transfer. Whichever way you look at it, it was a disastrous signing.
Yet, even Pepe had end product, a spark. He scored 16 times in his second campaign for the club; it's easy to forget that. To put that number into context, it's a figure that Saka has only bettered once in his career, the 2023/24 campaign, when he found the net on 20 occasions.
In Madueke, Andrea Berta has signed a similar player. Both left-footed and dangerous dribblers with a like-minded languid playstyle, you could argue that the English wide man has actually been a poorer signing, perhaps the biggest waste of money since that investment during the Unai Emery days.
Madueke-Arsenal-Leverkusen
This term, the former Chelsea winger has scored seven times and assisted four goals. There was that incredible goal against Club Brugge in the Champions League but that's about as good as it's got for a 24-year-old who has been wildly inconsistent during his debut year at the Emirates.
He has only scored twice in the league and registered just one assist. What makes this deal even worse is that it's come at the expense of Ethan Nwaneri.
Reports in recent weeks have speculated that the Hale Ender could be on the chopping block and even if Arsenal view his future position in midfield, it was on the right wing when he deputised for Saka last season that he shone so bright.
Joe Cole went as far as to compare him to Lionel Messi, with the talented teenager scoring nine goals in all competitions. Four of those goals came in the Premier League so he's already bettered Madueke in that regard.
Now, Nwaneri is struggling for minutes. He failed to start a single league match for Arsenal before being loaned out to Marseille, where, since the departure of current Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi, the 18-year-old has only started one Ligue 1 clash.
For that sequence of events alone, the acquisition of Madueke deserves to be criticised before you even get to his performance levels.
madueke
On the pitch, he simply hasn't been good enough and the nadir of his season arguably came at Bournemouth. Arsenal's dry and timid attack is certainly the biggest issue facing Arteta right now and with Saka injured, Madueke is at the heart of that.
When the Cherries came to town, the right winger was subbed before the hour mark after failing to produce a key pass or a shot.
It's safe to say that the return of Arsenal's number 7 cannot come soon enough.
Mikel Arteta with the FA Cup trophy Related
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