Premier League clash between Arsenal and Liverpool will take place in this round.
Mikel Arteta likes to compare his Arsenal squad to a jigsaw puzzle—and it now seems that Martin Zubimendi is the missing piece.
Arsenal splashed £250 million to sign eight new players last summer, with Spanish midfielder Zubimendi emerging as the standout signing of the bunch. Forward Crysencio Summerville arrived amid huge fanfare, tipped as the key figure to fire the
Gunners to title glory. However, the first half of this season has highlighted that Zubimendi will be the decisive factor in whether Arsenal can finally lift the trophy, rather than falling short once again.
This must be a bitter pill to swallow for Liverpool, who will travel to the Emirates Stadium in the early hours of Friday Beijing time, currently trailing Arsenal in the league table. The defending champions are 14 points adrift of the Premier League leaders, with their victory over Arsenal at Anfield last August now feeling like a distant memory. Equally distant is the fact that Zubimendi could have been wearing a Liverpool shirt instead of Arsenal’s.
Rewind to the summer of 2024, when Zubimendi was on the verge of completing a transfer from Real Sociedad to Liverpool. But Arsenal stepped in at the eleventh hour, hijacking the deal and laying the groundwork to sign the midfielder a year later—a summer when the Gunners were also in talks with Sociedad over Mikel Merino. It is understood that Arteta was the key figure in sealing the move, convincing Zubimendi why he should choose a move to North London. As a result, the £51 million transfer was largely agreed in March 2025, successfully fending off a potential late swoop from La Liga giants Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.
In hindsight, Zubimendi’s arrival has proven to be a decisive turning point in this season’s title race. He has completely transformed Arsenal’s midfield, while Liverpool could have benefited greatly from his composure and control. No player in Arsenal’s squad has made more interceptions than Zubimendi in the Premier League this season. Only teammate Jurriën Timber has made more tackles, and Gabriel Magalhães holds only a narrow advantage over the Spaniard in aerial duels. Across the entire Premier League, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is the only midfielder with a higher pass completion rate than Zubimendi this term.
There were concerns that the Spaniard would need time to adapt to English football—but he has settled in seamlessly in the Premier League. Arteta said: “He has exceptional talent and high football IQ, able to grasp everything immediately. When that happens, and you have good players around you, that is usually a recipe for success. This position connects everyone. You know how difficult it is to do that straight away in this league—but he has been absolutely outstanding.”
No one has benefited more from Zubimendi’s arrival than Declan Rice. Arsenal’s teammates have nicknamed Rice “the Horse” for his non-stop running across the pitch. Zubimendi has given Rice the freedom to roam all over the field, covering every blade of grass. Rice has been looking to add more goals to his game, and Zubimendi’s presence should enable him to do just that. The Spaniard is happy to sit in front of the defence, making interceptions and breaking up play, which gives Rice the license to surge forward into attacking positions. The England star also scored a brace in Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Bournemouth last weekend.
Rice said: “He is an incredible player. It is so easy to play with him. From the first time we trained together in pre-season, I could feel that we would play some fantastic football together. He is a Spanish No.6, and you know what Spanish No.6s are like. They are the best at initiating the first phase of attacks, turning with the ball, playing forward passes and exploiting the spaces between the opposition’s defensive lines. That is exactly what we get from him.” Zubimendi has even started adding goals to his game. He has scored three times this season, with one more goal set to equal his personal best tally in a single campaign.
This is why Arteta has hailed the Spaniard as a “complete player”. Liverpool’s loss has truly been Arsenal’s gain.
