Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva has delivered his verdict on how Martin Zubimendi has taken to life on the Emirates Stadium.
Gunners off to a flying begin to the season
After coming second within the Premier League three years on the spin, Mikel Arteta recognized the necessity to strengthen his squad significantly in the summertime switch window, and spent closely, bolstering his choices in quite a lot of key areas.
Viktor Gyokeres was arguably the assertion signing, amid widespread demand for Arteta to herald a brand new striker, and the Sweden worldwide is off to a strong, if not spectacular begin, having scored three objectives in his opening seven league video games.
Folllowing the departure of Thomas Partey, it was additionally important to strengthen in midfield, and Zubimendi was among the many most notable additions, with the Spain worldwide beginning six of the seven Premier League video games up thus far.
As such, the Spaniard has clearly managed to impress Arteta, and he has additionally caught the attention of Gilberto Silva, regardless of the Brazilian admitting he wasn’t conscious of who he was earlier than the Gunners finalised a summer time deal.
Chatting with GiveMeSport, the ex-Arsenal midfielder stated: “Zubimendi, to be sincere I did not know him earlier than he got here to Arsenal, however I’ve seen him in pre-season this yr in Asia.
“Once I see midfielders, the very first thing I observe is the positioning. How they place themselves on the sphere. For me, central midfielders who do not know find out how to place themselves to guard the again 4 and to provide assist to the blokes in entrance of them, to facilitate their work, he is lacking one thing.
“He [Zubimendi] manages to do that very effectively. Additionally, he has superb passing. He is been a giant plus for Arsenal. He got here, Thomas Partey left, however him and Declan [Rice] have grow to be a brand new partnership within the center, which is working very effectively.”
Zubimendi establishing himself as key participant for Arsenal
It’s no shock that Arteta has began the Spain worldwide so persistently, contemplating he has put in some incredible performances within the Premier League, averaging a 7.33 SofaScore match score, the second-highest determine of any Arsenal participant.
The 26-year-old additionally received the Guinness Aim of the Month award for September, courtesy of an exceptional strike within the 3-0 victory towards Nottingham Forest, throughout which he scored two objectives in a single recreation for the primary time in his profession.
There have been some considerations that Zubimendi’s new midfield accomplice, Rice, might have been dominated out resulting from damage, however the 26-year-old featured in England’s 3-0 victory over Wales, which means he appears heading in the right direction to be out there for the journey to Fulham subsequent weekend.
