Martin Zubimendi: Page 2 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Martin Zubimendi

banduan

Our Partey replacement, who can do what Rice can't as a 6.

Coombs

Funny, was just talking about this guy...

Panda

Great replacement for Partey and Jorginho.

Would still like a more creative attacking midfielder as our options will be Rice/Merino/Zubi/Ode for 3 positions if we add 1 more attacking then good blend from 5 mids for 3 positions and Ethan/MLS together as the 6th.

daredevil

DiabyKungFu

I think it's opportunistic more than anything. Rice is flexible enough to play 6 or 8, and where he ended up was always contingent on who we brought in as his partner. I think a creative LCM would have been better, but if Zubimendi is the best midfielder on the market that we can purchase, then so be it. Better that, then getting a sub standard LCM even if profile and balance wise it's probably better.

JazzG

DiabyKungFu Some of our best football last season came with Jorginho and Rice ahead of him, maybe he is trying to replicate that?

Also assuming we lose Jorginho and Partey this summer would leave us as with only Rice who can play as a 6.

daredevil

JazzG

Jorginho's best quality has been those lofted passes that he plays from deep to break lines. I don't know if Zubimendi has that in his locker, and his FBREF has him closer to Partey in terms of progressive passes, so it will be interesting to see the level of creativity the midfield has.

MistaT

I’ve seen almost nothing this year to suggest Rice is excelling at our 8 position. Really worried that we continue to sign players based on their talent rather than their fit for the specific roles Arteta demands.

Zubimendi looks great, but will he improve Rice (as an 8)?

DiabyKungFu

To be fair, I'll say that Zubimendi in and Jorginho + Partey out seems fine. I am concerned that this is THE midfield signing though and we're going to go into next season with a single real attacking midfielder again. For as much as the left wing and center forward doomers have been vindicated, I still think attacking midfield is the most critical signing for the team to make. We'll see. Maybe things will be fine. The prioritization has consistently baffled me, though.

samthegooner

DiabyKungFu I think the main question with our squad building is - are we okay with Nwaneri being the depth for both Odegaard and Saka next year? It could be the route to getting him the most minutes but it also leaves us threadbare if any of the three suffer an injury again, or god forbid all three like this year. Ideally, we replace Trossard with another player who can rotate between attacking midfield and winger. It also might mean that if we sign a central striker, we will also have Havertz as depth at attacking midfield more regularly.

Gurgen

Great news, should bury Partey definitively. Zubimendi is quality.

samthegooner

Big fan of Zubimendi but I also have some concerns about Rice long term as an 8. It's probably purely aesthetics as I have always loved to have a midfield with a screening destroyer as the 6 behind two more technical and ideally hard working midfielders. The team did look awesome last year when Jorginho and Rice were partnered but I do have my doubts on Rice in a more advanced role. Now, if we could sort out the left side of the attack and bring in a goal scoring center forward, that may eliminate a lot of my concerns. Regardless, it shows that Arteta is still able to bring in the guys he wants and won't compromise even if Liverpool, City and Madrid are all knocking at the door. And even better, it means that Partey is finally going to be gone this summer - good riddance.

DiabyKungFu

samthegooner I think the main question with our squad building is - are we okay with Nwaneri being the depth for both Odegaard and Saka next year?

Dunno. Maybe. As it stands, I don't think he's a winger like Saka or a guy to connect the midfield with the attack like Odegaard. He seems like a pure final third central player. Maybe he's young enough to be malleable, but he doesn't strike me as like-for-like with either of those players.

samthegooner

DiabyKungFu I think that it might be better that he isn't a like for like. We saw last week that he can get forward and score goals from the wing but we've also seen his close control and associative play in the interior. Personally, I think he will be a good option to have at both spots but also wouldn't complain if we had other options available as well. If we do rely on him as a RW backup, we desperately need to add more pace on the other side.

Coombs

Rice needs to be able to use his superpowers. That means giving him license to burst forward from deeper positions, and make recovery tackles. Zubi-Rice double-pivot, with wildly different remits aligned with their attributes, and a freer role for Odegaard. No more inverting left backs!

MistaT

Coombs — couldn’t agree more! Would also let our left wing stay higher up.

Qwiss

Coombs that for some games but switch to Ode as part of the pivot with Nwaneri in the free role against low blocks. We have a generational 10 in Nwaneri, we need to get him where he can do the most damage.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

Coombs so Tierney isn't quite done at Arsenal??

Don Pacifico

I hold no interest in this guy unless we sign a forward!

TambourineMan

Feels like news that has been released to get us excited about next season because they know this season is a write-off.

DiabyKungFu

TambourineMan Feels like news that has been released to get us excited about next season because they know this season is a write-off.

Do even the biggest Martin Zubimendi fans really think that signing Martin Zubimendi is an "excited about next season"-level signing?

Coombs

Qwiss I'd be thrilled to see it.

TambourineMan

Excited might be too strong of a word but it does feel like a ploy to manage tensions.

Don Pacifico

TambourineMan think this may be a little cynical. Suspect it's more likely the reason it's come out now is because it's the transfer window so (a) journalists are a investing more time in sourcing transfer stories and (b) a team like City have been sniffing round him this month to replace Rodriguez, so further reason for the press to investigate what's going on with Zubimendi specifically.

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