Declan Rice is earning all the plaudits after Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Bournemouth.
The England international was a doubt for the game after missing the previous fixture due to a knee injury. Mikel Arteta revealed after the win that the medical staff were actually unsure how long he would last.
However, Rice played the full 90 minutes, scored two wonderful goals and earned the Player of the Match award.
The former West Ham man deserves all the praise he has been getting, but one player should get some plaudits too – Martin Zubimendi.
Name your Arsenal Man of the Match vs Bournemouth but you can’t pick Declan Rice!
Martin Zubimendi was Arsenal’s unsung hero vs Bournemouth
Zubimendi has been a fine signing for Arsenal.
After chasing him for over two years, Arteta finally got his man in the summer transfer window, and he hit the ground running in the famous red and white.
Against Bournemouth on Saturday, Zubimendi was involved in a few sloppy moments on the ball in the first half, like many of his teammates.
However, out of possession, the Spaniard was phenomenal, and he got better as the game went into the second half.
In his 90 minutes on the pitch, the former Real Sociedad man won back possession 12 times.
That wasn’t just the most against Bournemouth; no Arsenal player has managed a better return in any of their 29 games this season (Opta).
We all know how dangerous Andoni Iraola’s side can be on the ball. They beat Arsenal twice in the Premier League last season.
The Gunners knew that they needed to recover the ball as soon as they lost it, and Zubimendi doing that 12 times helped them win the game.
Was Martin Zubimendi the best signing of Arsenal’s summer? If not, who was?
Martin Zubimendi’s stats vs Bournemouth are so impressive
Zubimendi is effortlessly producing excellent performances at Arsenal.
The Spain international has consistently been so good that people have come to believe that such brilliance is normal.
Against Bournemouth, Zubimendi had 94 touches of the ball and completed 72 of his 80 attempted passes, maintaining a healthy 90 per cent passing accuracy.
Along with 12 ball recoveries, the midfielder made four tackles, five clearances and nine defensive contributions, and he also won seven of his 10 attempted duels.
Sofascore gave Zubimendi a 7.3/10 rating for his display, the highest among any Arsenal player apart from the two goal scorers, Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes.
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