Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest comfortably at the Emirates, with an element of surprise even added in.
Mikel Arteta’s haunting of Ange Postecoglou continued in the former Tottenham manager’s first game as Forest boss.
Arsenal beat Forest 3-0 to get back to winning ways, in a game that was full of surprises.
The shock factor came solely from Martin Zubimendi, who scored twice on the day, opening the scoring with a tremendous volley, then netting his first headed goal.
Gary Lineker was really impressed with Martin Zubimendi
Against Forest, Zubimendi scored the first brace of his career, despite not being the profile that is particularly goal-hungry.
It wasn’t just his two goals that came as a surprise, but the way in which he scored them, too, burying a volley from the edge of the box.
When Forest cleared Noni Madueke’s corner, very few would’ve expected Zubimendi to lash the ball in the back of the net like he did, with Gary Lineker being one who was stunned by the strike.
Lineker took the time to speak about Zubimendi when analysing the game, admitting that from what he’s seen from the midfielder, he never expected the two goals to be scored.
“Zubimendi’s a player, I’ve seen him in La Liga,” Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“He’s that classic little Spanish player that they produce that is just comfortable in front of the back four, he’s happy to receive the ball, he’s very comfortable and confident.
“Didn’t expect him to bang in a screamer and a header.”
Having seen the metronome-type presence that Zubimendi offers in midfield, the 26-year-old certainly caught many off guard with his brace.
Zubimendi has hit the ground running
Addressing weak points in the summer transfer window is one thing, but seeing how quickly players can adapt to the Premier League is another.
Zubimendi experienced a baptism of fire at Old Trafford, but he’s really found his feet, being one of several Arsenal new boys who have hit the ground running.
So much so that Arsenal have been told Zubimendi is worth his weight in gold, with the midfielder’s ability to add balance to the Gunners’ midfield there for all to see.
It was a masterful signing from the North Londoners, who got their man to complete their midfield.
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