Arsenal‘s «best player» is somebody who has only been with the club a matter of months – summer signing Martin Zubimendi.
It may have gone unnoticed at the time but, speaking after the Gunners’ tight 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in October, manager Arteta lavished praise on the £60m midfield man – saying Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta had been tasked with defending Arsenal’s «best player».
It is for good reason that Arteta rates one of his more recent signings so highly. Zubimendi has been justifying his manager’s comments since signing from boyhood club Real Sociedad in July 2025.
The 27-year-old has played the most minutes of any of Arsenal’s outfield players and has been chipping in with goals too.
And that goal return may have come as a surprise, with Zubimendi signed primarily as a defensive midfielder but now having scored six times in 34 appearances – the most he has registered during any campaign in his career.
Arsenal and Arteta made a big play to recruit Zubimendi and started the work to try to sign him 12 months before he arrived at the club, initially discussing the possibility when they were completing a deal for his Sociedad team-mate Mikel Merino in the summer of 2024.
Zubimendi was brought in to be a crucial component of the Arsenal squad, with his passing ability, on-pitch intelligence and history of winning important trophies.
Indeed, the Spain international played an important role in his country beating England in the Euro 2024 final.
His signing has also given midfield team-mate Declan Rice the licence to take his attacking game to the next level.
How does Zubimendi fit in?
Arteta has spoken previously about how chaos and attacking more directly were effective ways for Arsenal to create chances when Zubimendi’s influence was blunted by being man-marked.
And from this we can infer that Zubimendi – Arsenal’s «best player» – is most important when it comes to breaking down teams in the manner Arteta prefers, with measured, sustained possession.
Zubimendi was pursued by Liverpool in 2024 and Reds boss Arne Slot made no secret of his desire for a defensive midfielder who is able to receive the ball behind strikers pressing his defenders, rather than coming to get the ball. Zubimendi excels at this.
And the former Sociedad man’s ability to sprint at the right time in order to show for the ball before progressing play – whether through a first-time pass, a timely dribble or a punchy pass through the line – has elevated Arsenal’s build-up this season.
Meanwhile, aerially, Zubimendi directs headers with a level of finesse, finding team-mates rather than simply looking to head the ball away.