The heavy criticism Martin Zubimendi has been getting recently baffles me.
I have seen fans and pundits label the Spanish midfielder as a flop, and must be replaced next season. What a load of hyperbole.
Zubi was superb at the beginning of the season. Dictating games and running the show.
He has played over 3,000 minutes, and more than 4,000 for club and country. If you were looking at a reason why Zubi is a huge upgrade on Thomas Partey, it is o his availability.
Yes, Zubi is now looking like he is running out of steam. Arteta should have used Norgaard a bit more early in the season. But what Zubi has done, and is still doing, is fantastic considering this is his first season in a new league. And one which is a lot more physically demanding than La Liga.
Zubimendi has also suffered due to Martin Odegaard being out – our captain drops deep and always offers a passing option to help get out the press. Something Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze do not really do.
When Odegaard is not playing, an easy out all disappears. Likewise Jurrien Timber also plus narrower than Ben White, giving Zubimendi another close passing option to ply one twos off and progress the ball up the field.
What we need to do next summer is sign someone to compliment both Zubimendi and Declan Rice. Who can take some of the game time off both of them to keep them fresher for the run in.
Ideally we need a bit of a unicorn player who can be called upon to be the metronome at the base of the midfield, but can also do the power running of Declan Rice further forward.
For me that man is Sandro Tonali.
The Italian is someone who can sit as the deepest midfielder, break up play and begin our attacks, and can also bring the energy of Rice if asked to do so further forward.
You sign the Newcastle man, we then have Rice, Zubimendi and Tonali and rotate the 3 without seeing too much of a quality drop off. We then have Mikel Merino as the 4th option.
After a season on the bench, Norgaard May win to depart for first team football. I can also see him transitioning to centre back and being a back up option for us there.
The criticism Zubi is getting is similar to that of Xabi Alonso in his first year at Liverpool, and they are very similar players.
Both players dominate the midfield through their positional awareness and reading of the game. They are not all action defensive midfielders like Partey. This can lead to criticism from fans who don’t quite understand the game and want to see their midfielder playing like Robbie Savage and covering every blade of grass.
Zubimendi will flourish next season. He would have had a year in England under his belt. And hopefully a new team mate who can share some more minutes with him.
Keenos
