According to FBref, Zubimendi looks like the ideal fit in the number six role, averaging 1.31 interceptions, 2.65 clearances, 1.36 blocks, and has won 1.64 aerial duels per 90 minutes in the 2024/25 La Liga campaign.

Arsenal laid the foundations for this summer’s arrival of Martín Zubimendi 12 months ago, outmanoeuvring Liverpool to poach the Spanish midfielder with what Mikel Arteta proudly hailed as a “really well-orchestrated plan”.

The reshaping of the Arsenal squad is just one of the adaptations Arteta is making in his quest to end Arsenal’s wait for silverware. “The only thing that (the players) were talking about at the end of last season and the first day through the door is, ‘OK, how are we going to be better? How are we going to do more?’,” he said.