Martin Zubimendi has another ‘exciting’ part of his game that hasn’t been seen at Arsenal yet

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Martin Zubimendi caught the eye during Arsenal’s pre-season, producing a string of encouraging performances for Mikel Arteta’s team.

After letting Thomas Partey and Jorginho leave the Emirates, the Gunners were on the hunt for a new defensive midfielder this summer.

Arsenal quickly agreed a deal to sign Zubimendi, who arrived for £55 million from Real Sociedad in early June.

Settling in quickly during pre-season and showing that he’s ready to hit the ground running for the North Londoners, the Spaniard is now in line to start against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

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Journalist says Martin Zubimendi can still add more final third threat to his game

Zubimendi was exceptional against Athletic Club on Saturday, pulling the strings for the Gunners at the base of their midfield.

The Basque maestro set the tempo with his expansive passing from deep, as well as preventing Athletic Club transitions with astute defensive work.

Gary Lineker has described Zubimendi as ‘terrific’, with the ex-Sociedad man now earning plaudits in the wider footballing landscape.

Despite all this praise, one area in which the 26-year-old hasn’t really contributed throughout his career is in the final third.

Finishing last season with one goal and two assists across 48 appearances in all competitions, Zubimendi has never managed more than five goal contributions in a single season.

However, journalist James McNicholas has revealed that people who knew the player at Sociedad are convinced this is an area in which he’s capable of improving drastically.

“I know when Zubimendi signed, speaking to people who knew him well from Sociedad, one of the things they said was that there are other dimensions to his game,” McNicholas said on the latest Arsecast episode.

“He’s not just a number six. He can add things in the opponent’s half as well, so it’s exciting to see that there could be more to come from him.”

Zubimendi set up the opening goal at the Emirates on Saturday for Viktor Gyokeres, whipping a delicious ball in for the Swedish striker to head home.

The quality of this delivery is an indication that McNicholas’ sources close to Sociedad might be on to something when claiming that the number six could provide more final third value than he has done previously.

Martin Zubimendi’s attacking statistics 2024/25

For Sociedad, Zubimendi was tasked with collecting the ball from the back four and distributing from deep.

The Spanish outfit were a counter-attacking side, sitting deep and surrendering possession for large periods of their games.

This meant Zubimendi was rarely given the licence to get forward and into the final third, playing a very restricted role for Imanol Alguacil’s team.

This resulted in the midfielder accumulating very suppressed attacking numbers, creating less than one chance and taking less than one shot per 90 minutes.

He rarely ventured into the opponent’s box, managing fewer than two touches in the attacking penalty area per game.

For Arsenal, in a territorially dominant side, he should get more opportunities to break forward and showcase his creative talents.