Andrea Berta signed eight new players in his first transfer window as Arsenal’s sporting director.
The Italian replaced Edu Gaspar at the Emirates Stadium, and he exceeded every fan’s expectations with the work he did last summer.
Out of the eight players he signed, Berta handpicked seven of them, but there is one outlier – Martin Zubimendi.
TRUE or FALSE: Arsenal MUST upgrade on Martin Zubimendi this summer?
Andrea Berta didn’t want to sign Martin Zubimendi for Arsenal
Zubimendi was one of the best midfielders in La Liga during his time at Real Sociedad.
The Spaniard was wanted by some of the biggest clubs in the world, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, but he chose Arsenal in the end.
That delighted Mikel Arteta and Arsenal fans at the time, but if it were up to Berta, this move would never have happened.
The Athletic reported in September last year that the framework for a deal to sign Zubimendi was done before the Italian had joined Arsenal.
It was revealed that if Berta had been involved, he had other defensive midfielders in mind to strengthen that area of Arsenal’s pitch.
The former Atletico Madrid sporting director would’ve watched the Spaniard in La Liga a lot more than anyone at Arsenal had, so he perhaps knew the negatives that everyone else didn’t.
Since the turn of the year, Zubimendi has been really poor, so much so that some fans have begun questioning the decision to sign him.
He has looked nothing like himself in the second half of the season.
Berta, who has been in the game for a long time, may have anticipated this, which is why he preferred other options.
Should Mikel Arteta drop Martin Zubimendi?
Mikel Arteta may have to drop Martin Zubimendi
Zubimendi was absolutely incredible in the first half of the season, which is why the recent dip in form is such a surprise.
However, fans must consider that this is his first-ever season in the Premier League, and he has been forced to play more minutes than he has ever done before.
That definitely takes its toll, and after watching his performance against Bournemouth, we think he needs to come out of the side.
Arteta needs to make a bold move and use Declan Rice in the number six role instead. Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard either side of him would make the Gunners a much more dangerous side in attack.
However, whether the Arsenal boss will sacrifice a bit of his side’s defensive solidity to go with the above midfield trio remains to be seen.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
