Plenty of Arsenal players earned praise in the media after the win at Chelsea, but one star was a headline-maker.
The scoreline was deceptive, as Arsenal dominated Chelsea but allowed their rivals to find a way back into the tie.
Kepa Arrizabalaga wasn’t strong enough, reducing Arsenal’s lead to just one goal ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates.
Though Kepa’s performance was disappointing, those ahead of him certainly made up for the goalkeeper’s mishaps, with one of the Man of the Match contenders being Martin Zubimendi.
Tell us who deserves the Man of the Match award vs Chelsea 👀
Some big performances 💪
Spanish media reported the ‘coincidence’ of Martin Zubimendi’s goal against Chelsea
It’s actually crazy how good Zubimendi has been since making the move to Arsenal from Real Sociedad in the summer.
At Stamford Bridge, Arsenal fans saw exactly why Mikel Arteta was desperate to bring the Spaniard to N5, as he showed that he’s far more than simply a number six.
Zubimendi’s goal was tremendous, a strike so good that it earned a headline in Spain.
ElDesmarque were reporting on Real Madrid’s shock defeat to second-tier Albacete in the Copa del Rey, which is where Zubimendi’s name appeared.
“Real Madrid’s needs and the coincidence of Zubimendi’s goal during the defeat against Albacete,” the piece was titled.
It referred to Real Madrid’s interest in Zubimendi in the summer transfer window, when the midfielder chose to sign for Arsenal.
How much is Martin Zubimendi worth to Arsenal now?
It's certainly a lot more than the £51m we paid!
Featuring on TV programme, ‘ElDesmarque Madrugada’, Spanish football figure Pablo Lopez praised what he was seeing the Arsenal star do at Stamford Bridge.
“Real Madrid needs a playmaker, a ‘5’, a catalyst for their play. During the match, I was watching a fantastic goal by Zubimendi on TV,” Lopez said.
“The structure has been criticised, and now they’ve realised that Zubimendi was indeed needed. Real Madrid needs a quality midfielder.”
ElDesmarque concludes the piece by noting that Real Madrid have no chance to sign Zubimendi after missing out on him to Arsenal, saying, ‘there’s nothing to suggest that Martin is considering leaving London in the short to medium term.’
Zubimendi was so good against Chelsea
Real Madrid know what they’re missing with Zubimendi, and Arsenal certainly know what they’ve got.
Answer honestly, have you been surprised by how good Martin Zubimendi has been?
Against Chelsea, the 26-year-old played in a way that was almost unexpected, as so often, he made runs into the box from midfield.
The Blues couldn’t handle what the Spaniard was doing, which eventually resulted in him scoring a world-class goal to properly mark the occasion.
Arsenal are seeing a new side to Zubimendi, as the summer signing continues to make it very clear that we’re yet to see the very best from him.
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