Viktor Gyokeres celebrates with Martin Zubimendi Eberech Eze after his Premier League goal against Burnley | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Imagesplaceholder image
Viktor Gyokeres celebrates with Martin Zubimendi Eberech Eze after his Premier League goal against Burnley | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera have all shone for Mikel Arteta this season
Even a draw against Sunderland - Arsenal’s first dropped points since September - before the international break couldn’t allow Manchester City to close to within three points of top spot while Arteta’s side are joint-top of the Champions League table, into the EFL Cup quarter-finals and their new signings have been pivotal in that success.
Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke have made a major impact while Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie and even the much-maligned Kepa Arrizabalaga have all starred as Arsenal remain unbeaten in the cup competitions.
However, the best impact has been made by a player who’s only had three goal contributions but has revolutionised the way Arsenal perform at both ends of the pitch - Martin Zubimendi.
Zubimendi the missing piece for Arsenal
If that seems like high praise, it's nothing compared to former Arsenal defender Martin Keown’s verdict on Zubimendi.
“Across Europe, I don’t really see anybody that has come in and integrated so well, made such an impact,” Keown told talkSPORT.
“The goals he scored [against Nottingham Forest], the header, but he makes everything tick.”
Keown also highlighted how Zubimendi’s presence lessened the blow of losing Martin Odegaard once again, with Declan Rice’s advanced position in midfield allowing him to contribute more going forward alongside Zubimendi’s own creativity.
The Spaniard’s statistics don’t really leap off the page - he ranks highly in the Premier League for touches and passes made, having completed the most medium-range passes of anyone in his position - and gets dispossessed only once every three to four games while weirdly also boasting a fantastic aerial duel success rate.
Where the new arrival really shows his worth though is when compared to his predecessor at the base of midfield, Thomas Partey.
Zubimendi is on course to eclipse his goal contributions from last season by 50% while boasting more progressive passes, touches in the final third, carries and shot-creating actions per 90 minutes than the Ghanaian.
His vaunted ability to progress his side upfield has transitioned seamlessly to the Premier League and as the attacking players ahead of him get more and more used to Arteta’s system then Zubimendi will only rack up more assists.
So unless injuries begin to disrupt his career, there’s no reason the Spaniard can’t form a dynastic midfield partnership with 26-year-old Declan Rice into the 2030s.
Can Zubimendi replicate Rice’s legacy at the Emirates?
While it’s more normal for forwards, defenders and goalkeepers to go in and out of form, when a holding midfielder gets established as one of the best in the Premier League they tend to stick around.
Rice himself, N’Golo Kante, Fernandinho, Rodri and Moises Caicedo are the latest examples of this and there’s no reasons to suggest Zubimendi will buck that trend.
He turns 27 this season so has plenty of time to not only break Arsenal’s major trophy duck, but add a whole host of winners’ medals to go alongside his European Championship necklace from 2024.
As a signing so early in the summer, Zubimendi’s arrival was laughed at by fans who questioned how Arsenal could possible hope to improve their goalscoring by signing a defensive midfielder but the 26-year-old has the potential to be The Gunners’ most influential signing since they brought Rice across London.
Eberechi Eze is his closest competition from the current crop but in his position with so many other attacking stars around, it will be hard to stand out from the likes of Gyokeres and Saka while Riccardo Calafiori has been a quality addition to at left-back.
But the drop off to Myles Lewis-Skelly, who’s already won senior England caps, compared to the drop from Zubimendi to Christian Norgaard is incomparable and can prove as big an upgrade as Rice did.
And he can do what no one has done in north London in at least a generation - help Arsenal over the line to win a Premier League title after 20 years of waiting.
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