Martin Zubimendi has just been slammed by Spain’s media after Arsenal transfer target’s display vs Barcelona

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While Arsenal struggle for results amidst their injury crisis up front, primary transfer target Martin Zubimendi isn’t faring much better.

The Gunners were unable to add a forward to Mikel Arteta’s squad in January, and have subsequently paid the price.

Kai Havertz is out for the season with a hamstring injury, joining an extensive injury list that has forced Arteta into deploying a makeshift attacking set-up in recent matches.

Despite this lack of movement on offensive players in January, Arsenal did make a move to sign Martin Zubimendi, with the Spanish midfielder expected to join the Gunners in the summer for £51 million.

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Spanish media criticise Martin Zubimendi’s performance against Barcelona

With Zubimendi likely to end up at the Emirates, Arsenal fans will understandably be closely monitoring his performances for Real Sociedad for the remainder of this season.

The 26-year-old was hooked at half-time as La Real were thrashed by Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

Goals from Gerrard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandoski saw off the Basque side, leaving Imanol Alguacil’s side stuck in ninth in La Liga.

Zubimendi was praised by Spanish media for a recent display against Espanyol, but has been heavily criticised following this nightmarish outing in Catalonia.

Mundo Deportivo wrote about the midfielder: “Uncomfortable. Another tough match. He suffered like no other. He rested in the second half, thinking about Thursday.”

While the Spanish outlet suggest Alguacil substituted Zubimendi at half-time with Thursday’s Europa League clash with Manchester United in mind, it’s also possible the Sociedad boss felt he had to take Zubimendi off because he wasn’t playing well.

The Euro 2024 winner completed just ten passes in the opening 45 minutes, registering no shots, no key passes and just one tackle.

It was a dire outing from the Arsenal target, and a dismal night for the San Sebastian side, who were outshot 33 to zero.

Arsenal should sign Joshua Kimmich instead of Martin Zubimendi

Jorginho is expected to leave Arsenal in the summer, with the Italian close to agreeing a deal to join Flamengo, and thus the Gunners will likely need at least one midfield reinforcement.

Zubimendi is the most likely arrival, although the North Londoners should instead be considering adding Joshua Kimmich to their ranks.

Kimmich has been linked with Arsenal this week, after it was revealed that Bayern Munich aren’t prepared to offer him a new deal with the terms the German wants.

As shown in the data above, the Bayern man has better production than Zubimendi in almost every aspect of the game.

While Kimmich is four years older, he’s significantly more progressive on the ball, which is supposed to be Zubimendi’s superpower, while he also produces significantly more in the final third.

For the analytics department at Arsenal, it should be a no brainer to go for the more experienced and, crucially, free player.