Martin Zubimendi’s lack of progressive play infuriated Arsenal fans during the Gunners’ Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.
It’s not been an easy time for the summer signing of late, as Zubimendi has been very error-prone.
Still, in Mikel Arteta’s eyes, there’s nothing that can break up the partnership of Declan Rice and Zubimendi, but given the latter’s form, something might have to give very soon.
In the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen, the midfielder collected a lot of criticism on social media, with Arsenal fans having the same complaint about Zubimendi’s style of play.
Who was Arsenal’s most disappointing player against Bayer Leverkusen?
Arsenal fans fume at Martin Zubimendi’s passing range against Bayer Leverkusen
The majority of the Arsenal squad struggled against Leverkusen, but Zubimendi was one of the worst.
Arsenal fans made their frustrations clear on X when analysing what they were seeing from the Spaniard on the pitch.
The same complaint arose again and again: he was not playing the ball forward enough.
- “Does Zubimendi actually know how to play a forward pass?! Taking the safe / easy option every time.”
- “Not sure Zubimendi has played a single forward pass.”
- “All Zubimendi does is pass the ball back.”
One X user went as far as to say, “I will pay everyone who likes this post 100 quid if Zubimendi makes a forward pass.”
Another simply concluded, “Zubimendi is a very negative player.”
How would you sum up Martin Zubimendi’s performance against Bayer Leverkusen?
The feedback was harsh, but alarmingly, it was justified, as of the 57 passes Zubimendi completed, only six of them went into the final third.
The lack of forward passes transpired into a wider concern from Arsenal fans, as several simply wondered what the £51m midfielder offers to the team when he plays in such a way.
- “What does Zubimendi do in this team? Too conservative for his role.”
- “Low-key, what does Zubimendi do for us? Rice is doing 2 jobs in midfield.”
- “Real talk, but what exactly does Zubimendi currently do?”
The criticism was very similar, and while the frustrations were valid, it has to be said that Zubimendi looks absolutely knackered.
None of Arsenal’s outfield players has played more minutes than the summer arrival, who has remarkably only played 77 minutes fewer than David Raya.
Something has to give for Zubimendi, and a rest certainly solves a lot of his current issues, but will Arteta make the call?
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
