ZUBIMENDI CONFIRMED
SPANIARD CONFIRMED AS SECOND SIGNING OF THE SUMMER
Zubimendi to Arsenal finally landed the Ornstein confirmation, as well as further ratification from Fabrizio.
What did I tell you yesterday? Calm. Patience. Zen. That deal has been in the bag for a long time, and if documents are signed, it’s very difficult to unsign them.
The interesting tidbit from Ornstein was that Madrid were never really that interested. It seems like a nationalistic push by the Spanish newspapers to cajole Madrid into prising open the contract so they could hoard another number 6.
So what do we have? Personally, I feel like we have the 2025 version of Gilberto. Not because they are similar players, but because I think the value of players like this isn’t always totally clear when you watch them. This is the sort of player that has comments like “he’s boring” following him around. He doesn’t score goals, he doesn’t get assists, he’s not quite a Busquets, and he doesn’t have the exciting power and pace we adore in players like Declan Rice and Rodri. He’s also not a player who is on the ball all the time, not what you expect of a 6 from the Basque region of Spain.
What he does offer is something very unique in world football: the ability to play as a single-pivot 6. He can pull teams out of shape, he’s press-resistant, he can open up teams, he can drive the ball forward. I think he’s an extremely unique talent who is going to be an extreme level-raiser.
A single pivot means you don’t always have to invert full-backs, you don’t have to have Martin Ødegaard dropping so deep. It means we can move the ball up the pitch faster, it means we can play a game that is more exciting.
Zubimendi feels like a Sporting Director’s type of hire. Someone with electric data points that make them look like they’re working hard for their money.
For Arsenal to get this deal done, with competition from big clubs, and to do it in a timely manner is exceptional work.
Worth noting that this wasn’t a Berta deal — this was worked on last year — so we still await what the Italian can bring to the table. There are rumors that he’s bringing Tognozzi to Arsenal. The Italian worked on the Juve Next Gen side and unearthed some good players like Dean Huijsen, Kenan Yildiz, and Matias Soulé, who were sold off for big money (but, people got fired during this era). Everyone talks about him and his time at Juventus but seems to ignore that he’s been a flop as a Sporting Director at Granada. He took over a tough situation, but they were relegated, and the next season they didn’t get a promotion. I’m sure he has talents, but we allowed Jason Ayto to move on — who has Premier League experience — to bring in someone who has no Premier League experience and worked under Paratici. Not exactly the sort of mentor you put on a resume.
Anyway, I guess we’ll see what the new world looks like over the remainder of the window. Madrid influencers are saying Arsenal seems like the destination for Rodrygo. It would seem like the Sané heat has moved to Turkey, which would indicate Euro clubs might have noticed a decline in data…
The striker story has moved so hard into the Sesko court that United seem to be given a free run at Gyökeres. He always felt like the sort of player they sign. That he doesn’t seem to have interest from Champions League clubs is interesting. Not even Chelsea moved in on him despite having a striker issue of their own… they buy 9s for fun, £60m is chump change to them, but no move? Odd.
Ok, short one today for the fiends. x
To the naysayers who rubbished Arteta's ability as a coach in the previous thread, this quote from Ethan Nwaneri is apposite:
“There’s a lot to learn from Mikel (Arteta),” he says of his club manager. “If you ever met him, you’d see how intense he is. How he’s so good with his words and he knows what he’s saying. He’s elevated my game, definitely. There’s so much, not even just tactically but mentally too.
“On a personal level, he’s helped me a lot. He’s really big on body language and the way that he presents himself. He puts that onto me. Before, maybe the way that I’d walk or slouch a bit or just the way I’d be sitting, he’s onto everything. That’s helped me just sharpen up in my mind and it’s helped me a lot.”
Players at Man City expressed similar opinions when Arteta worked there and it's no accident that the likes of Gabriel, Saka, Ben White and Declan Rice have improved immeasurably under his tutelage.
Still want to see "done deals" announced by the clubs rather than reporters, but it will certainly ease the worry about losing Partey and Jorginho in the same window. If Partey is not staying i guess Zinchenko can also be a back up, but i would have like the club to look at Angel Gomes on a free.
As for the wing, it was nice to see Eze hanging out with Declan Rice and Saka, i would take him in a heartbeat, he can play all across the 3 behind the striker.