Arsenal’s £55m bargain
Afternoon all. I hope the international break is treating you well. Fear not, we’re almost halfway through it.
The action properly kicks off tonight, with Jurrien Timber in action for the Netherlands, Christian Norgaard hoping for some minutes with Denmark and Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the England squad to face Wales.
I’m sure you will all join me in crossing those fingers and hoping everyone comes through the games unscathed because the last thing we need during this two-week hiatus is any more injuries to key players.
There are still two days to go until Spain are in action when they host Georgia, with Martin Zubimendi expected to start once again for the Euro 2024 winners.
And it’s Zubimendi who I focused the main part of my Inside Arsenal show on this morning, given the way he has started the season in north London following his move from Real Sociedad in the summer.
I really do think he has been exceptional so far for Arsenal. That deep midfield role is so integral to how Arsenal play under Mikel Arteta and he’s had a real baptism of fire in that position.
Trips to Old Trafford, Anfield, St James’ Park, a home game against Manchester City when he was up against Rodri. There really has been nowhere to hide for Zubimendi since he’s arrived and I think he’s handled it all so well.
We always hear about players needing some time to settle when they first come to the Premier League and there is a lot of truth to that. It does take a while before they can adjust to the physical side of the game, as well as the pace and the intensity.
I remember speaking to someone during the summer who had watched a lot of Zubimendi while he was with Sociedad and he was confident he was going to be a success here.
The one question mark he did have over him, however, centred around how he would be able to cope physically with what the Premier League would throw at him.
But so far he has handled all that so well, under really tough circumstances given the fixtures Arsenal have had. We all knew about his quality on the ball and how well he could set the tempo when in possession, but I think he’s shown us all already there is far more to his game than that.
His ability in the air has come as a big surprise, certainly to me anyway, as has how comfortable he looks when he does get himself into the final third. And he’s definitely shown he can mix it if he needs to. At £55 million, right now he looks like an absolute steal in the current market.
So, if you want to hear more of me waxing lyrical about Zubimendi and the part he has played in Arsenal’s impressive start to the season, then you can watch today’s show on YouTube or listen via all the usual podcast platforms.
There’s also plenty of chat about the potential Emirates Stadium expansion, as well as bits and pieces on Jakub Kiwior, the upcoming internationals and more.
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