Arsenal have been preparing for their first home game of the season against Leeds United.
Mikel Arteta has been putting his players through the paces ahead of the game after seeing his men look very average against Manchester United in their opening fixture.
The good news was that Arsenal beat the Red Devils despite not playing well, but Arteta will want his players to be at their best against Leeds on Saturday.
One of them was given a very interesting role in training ahead of the weekend’s game.
Mikel Arteta spotted having an ‘animated conversation’ with Martin Zubimendi after Arsenal training
Arteta is very inventive in training sessions.
The Arsenal manager has made the headlines in the past for playing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ during a session, which divided opinion.
However, nobody can question Arteta’s tactics, and it looks like he has found an interesting way to help Martin Zubimendi improve in training.
Arsenal held an open training session at the Emirates Stadium ahead of their clash against Leeds United, and at the end, the players were involved in a game.
Summer signing Zubimendi took part, but the Spaniard actually played for both sides instead of just one, according to the Evening Standard.
The former Real Sociedad man was given a different coloured bib from everyone else, and his role switched depending on which side had the ball.
Zubimendi played for the team in possession, so every time the ball switched sides, he would as well, which is really interesting.
After the session, the report claims that Arteta had a very ‘animated’ conversation with Zubimendi, ‘with the Arsenal boss pointing and moving around in an attempt to seemingly show him where to be’.
Mikel Arteta having a conversation with Martin Zubimendi during an Arsenal Training Session
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Mikel Arteta explains why he used Martin Zubimendi in that unique role in training
Zubimendi is a tremendous signing for Arsenal.
The Spaniard is an incredible player, and he has already shown flashes of his brilliance in the famous red and white over the summer.
After watching his unique new role in training, where he played for both sides simultaneously, a journalist asked Arteta the reason behind it.
The Arsenal boss replied, as relayed on Hayters TV: “It has an element of that (to integrate him into Arsenal’s style of play). It has an element, as well, of the load.
“He missed a couple of training sessions before Man United with illness. Obviously, the game took a lot out of him, and we wanted to manage him as well.”