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Despite a couple of setbacks against Aston Villa and PSV over the last week, Arsenal are once again flying in the Premier League.
While the team are less pleasing on the eye this season, Mikel Arteta has seen his side grow in maturity and develop a sterner side.
The £105m signing of Declan Rice has been instrumental in the solidifying of Arsenal, and while he and Martin Odegaard are practically guaranteed places in the starting XI, the third member of the Gunners midfield has been changing on a fairly regular basis.
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The 18-year-old could replace Rice one day, or become the perfect midfield partner.
However, that could soon change as the latest player to be linked with a move to the Emirates, Martin Zubimendi, could become the Englishman’s perfect partner.
Arsenal transfer news – Martin Zubimendi
According to The Mirror, Arsenal are conscious of their FFP position going into January but are still on the lookout for a new midfielder, and while their interest in Villa’s Douglas Luiz remains, the ‘mega, mega-money’ it would take to sign him renders the transfer unlikely.
However, the north Londoners are also interested in another fantastically talented midfielder, Real Sociedad’s Zubimendi and the fact that he has a £53m release clause makes a move for him far more realistic – at least from a balancing-the-books perspective.
It would still represent a hefty investment from the Gunners – and make him their fifth most expensive signing ever – but for a player that Luis de la Fuente, Spain’s manager, called one of “the best midfielders in the world”, it would likely be worth it.
Martin Zubimendi could be the perfect partner for Declan Rice
As mentioned before, Rice and Odegaard are practically guaranteed their place in this Arsenal team, as the former has been integral this year, and the latter is the captain who looks back to his best after a slightly rocky start to the campaign.
So, the Sociedad man would have to replace one of the players Arteta has been swapping in and out of the starting XI this year: Kai Havertz, Jorginho, Fabio Viera and even Thomas Partey when he was fit.
However, “the heart of La Real’s midfield”, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, primarily plays as a defensive midfielder, meaning he would likely replace Jorginho or Partey, allowing Rice to occupy the left-eight role.
The first advantage Zubimendi has over the competition is age. The “special talent”, as described by U23 scout Antonio Mango, is still just 24 years old, whereas Partey is 30 and Jorginho 31, meaning that Zubimendi could come in and reach his peak at the same time as Rice and Odegaard, securing Arsenal’s midfield for nearly a decade.
When it comes to their output, however, it is a little trickier to claim the Spaniard is the outright superior player, but given how close their overall underlying numbers are, there is no reason to suggest that with time and the right coaching, he couldn’t replicate their best – or even better them.
Martin Zubimendi vs Jorginho vs Thomas Partey |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Stats (per 90) |
Zubimendi |
Jorginho |
Partey |
Non-Penalty Expected Goals +Assists |
0.18 |
0.04 |
0.14 |
Progressive Carries |
1.34 |
1.18 |
1.23 |
Progressive Passes |
5.10 |
7.55 |
8.37 |
Shots on Target |
0.34 |
0.04 |
0.14 |
Passing Accuracy |
85.4% |
85.8% |
87.2% |
Tackles Won |
0.87 |
1.52 |
1.45 |
Clearances |
1.95 |
0.63 |
1.49 |
Miscontrols |
0.81 |
0.93 |
1.20 |
Ball Recoveries |
6.11 |
7.93 |
8.15 |
All Stats via FBref for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 Domestic Seasons |
The young ace outclasses his older opposition for progressive carries, clearances, miscontrols, shots on target, and non-penalty expected goals and assists but falls short in other areas, such as progressive passing and ball recoveries.
Ultimately, with both Arsenal players seeing less and less game time and are arguably over the hill in a football sense, bringing in someone young, exciting and potentially brilliant such as Zubimendi just makes sense.
Equally, given enough time to bed in, he could prove to be the perfect partner for Rice at Arsenal.
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