I at least am not looking at stats. I use match comps to judge potential transfers. There's a good number on Zubimendi, and this is the picture I get: surprisingly robust defensively, very precise tackler, turns beautifully with great ball control, keeps it simple, plays deft and tidy passes, and very good resisting pressure. Lots of short, sideways, and backwards passes. Less adventurous than Partey, but steadier as well. He would be a good complement to Rice and our more dynamic inverted fullbacks.

Much less stiff than I imagined. Two footed as well.

Don Pacifico Reminds me of Mikel Arteta.

Really don't like what I've seen of him if we're bringing him in to be an upgrade on Partey and Jorginho. His touch seems very loose and he holds onto the ball far too long for my liking only to end up passing it wide or backwards.

On the plus side he's very combative and switched on defensively and tackles quite hard, but we have enough of those qualities in Rice and Merino to a certain extent.

Overall I reckon he'll end up being solid yet frustrating player, and end up exacerbating our horseshoe of death pattern and being the target of frustration from the fans.

Big Willie I don't think he's an upgrade per se, he's a replacement for them. Partey has been quite good for us this season, so that's an important bit of squad maintenance. Also, Zubi's fitness record the last few seasons is impressive, he's played a lot of matches. He'll be steady and reliable.

We just need a player like this with Partey and Jorginho done. Watch Real Madrid to see a team without a playmaker. They lack structure.

Horseshoe of death is fine by the way. It’s what we do when we find teams out of formation that is the bigger issue. And that we have to solve with speedy forwards

Reijnders but he’s not really available.

lorddulaarsenal

That would have been an alternative way, and my preferred way, to set the midfield up with Rice moving to DM.

daredevil Rice ends up playing everywhere anyway in any game.

Coombs Jorginho was pretty good when he got a run in the team but barely gets any minutes now.

Don Pacifico massive defensive liability against speedy midfields. But his passing is beautiful

CPM Zubi's fitness record the last few seasons is impressive, he's played a lot of matches.

Touch wood this is true, but if we bring him in and he plays 90% of matches at or near the level of our current starters it'll benefit us. We've had too many campaigns disrupted through the midfield.

I think there's a big disconnect between the perception of Partey and what we have actually seen over the last 2-3 seasons. Partey when he first came in was a monster both defensively and with ball progression/press resistance. However, we really haven't seen that player in the last 2-3 seasons. He's had some good games for sure but I find myself getting more frustrated with his performances over the last 2 seasons than any other player on our squad, barring guys like Sterling. He very rarely shows off his passing range these days and he gets the easy passes wrong far more than any player should. Zubimendi will instantly provide an improvement in ball retention and eliminating stupid mistakes that either make our defenders have to scramble to save him or create a break. I also think Zubimendi will speed up our buildup and play. He doesn't dwell on the ball - cycles it quickly and can get us moving the ball quickly from side to side even if it's not that highlight worthy line splitting pass.

I don't want us to waste funds on him , he will be outmuscled, out paced and run over in this league.

flobaba like I said, I don't trust these stats at all. My suspicion is that you put Zubi in a team like Arsenal and his numbers jump significantly.

I honestly doubt it unless we change how we set up and have another playmaker in Rice's position. We'll see I guess but I'm not confident we'll be better off with Zubi in place of Partey, at least from an attacking/creative perspective.