Martin Zubimendi was not expected to start against West Ham, but by full time it was clear Arsenal’s 2-0 win over the Hammers had his fingerprints all over it.
Game changer in midfield
Replacing the injured Martin Odegaard after 30 minutes, Zubimendi stepped in and immediately took control. He was involved in both goals. His clever forward pass found Eberechi Eze, whose shot ricocheted off the keeper and fell kindly for Declan Rice to fire home Arsenal’s opener.
It was Zubimendi again who threaded a brilliant ball through to Jurrien Timber, leading to the penalty that Bukayo Saka coolly converted.
Zubimendi did not just slot in, he changed the game.
He delivered a performance of real substance.
Calm amid chaos, he offered technical security and elite game intelligence. He injected total control into Arsenal’s play, making the game look simple because he understands it better than most. A conductor in midfield, a macalin, a special player. A musician, but on the pitch.
Media reaction to Zubimendi’s display
Here is how the media responded to his performance.
The Sun wrote:
“It is often quite tough being thrown on in the first half of a Prem match, but try telling Zubimendi that. He ran the game from the moment he came on for the injured Odegaard.
“Everything good goes through him, which is why it is so tough leaving him on the bench.”
Football London echoed the praise:
“Came on to replace the injured Martin Odegaard. Great pass through to Eze, which led to the opening goal, and ran the game with what felt like a greater level of balance after the reshuffle.”
Performances like the one Zubimendi delivered on Saturday evening leave only one word to describe his €65 million summer move: masterstroke.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Daniel O
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Another advantage of having Zubimendi on the pitch is it freeing Rice to be further forward. In the initial setup, Rice wouldn’t have been up the pitch to score that goal.
I also feel like his defensive contributions are underrated. He has a tackling style where he doesn’t go to ground,preferring to remain standing as he nabs the ball. Wins a fair bit of headers too.
He tends to float balls over the top first time! You’d think they won’t reach their target but they always do and his ability to play with both feet opens up the pitch for us,unlike Jorginho & Partey who had a right sided bias. Could be the signing of the summer if we win something big.
But that’s what Arteta has been doing but you people including the pundits have been on his neck to remove the “handbrake”
Merino is the hand brake not Zubi.
Having Rice, Zubi and Merino in the midfield in a starting lineup is very defensive and stifles the attack. I believe if you are an arsenal fan you will have noticed it is true. The trio in midfield is very defensively solid. Swapping Merino for Eze has improved our attacking flow.
Difficult to refer to Merino as the handbrake with his scoring prowess.
Deploying Merino in a midfield role and an attacking role is not the same thing bro.
His role in Liverpool and Mancity match is not the same as his role at Newcastle.
You have not noticed that Gyogores was removed and Merino played uptop in our early matches.
Merino is effectively an option for us in attack. With Kai out he can be used to sub Gyogores or paired with him uptop when we are looking for goals.
Merino is very good with marking and winning the ball.
When he is deployed in a defensive role he offers nothing going forward. How many clear cut chances did we get in the Liverpool and City game. How many did we get in the Newcastle game with him coming from the bench.
Merino can’t be the handbrake. He scores goals which shows he has attacking instincts. The handbrake is the instruction from the boss who prefers to attack while defending. That system which does not allow a fully fledged attack.
Zubi is great. His ability to spot runs and pin point spaces leaves me speechless.