Premier league side Arsenal are looking to secure the signature of another defensive midfielder in Martin Zubimendi.
The Gunners are looking to improve their squad going into next season and have identified the Real Sociedad man as the right person to bring about that upgrade. You would agree with me that finding a world-class defensive midfielder has become one of the major facets of our modern game.
Top clubs in and around Europe tend to have a strong base from which they operate in midfield. Manchester City has Rodri, Manchester United has Casemiro, Barcelona had Busquets, Arsenal had Vieira. Having a quality No.6 is considered one of the major differences between being a failure or a success in the modern game.
Well, some of us thought that when Mikel Arteta signed Declan Rice from Westham that he would regularly be the one in the No.6 position but that has not really being the case as he has been used in more advance roles upfront.
While Rice is still considered one of the best signing of the season, the England international is said to be far from the natural defensive midfielder Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is looking to sign. Arteta's need for a more central defensive midfielder is the reason why he wants Zubimendi.
Now, to better understand why Arsenal wants Zubimendi, we have to check out his strengths and maybe his weaknesses.
ZUBIMENDI'S BIGGEST STRENGTHS.
One of the reason Zubimendi is wanted by not just Arsenal but also Barcelona is because of the star's similarities with Sergio Busquets. The Real Sociedad midfielder is often being compared to the former Barcelona star and legend.
1) Distribution:
When you watch Zubimendi, you will quickly realize that he is one of the best deep lying creative midfielders. He is good in distributing his passes from deep areas, as the midfielder can often be found dropping between centre-backs before picking a forward pass either into more advanced midfielders or the wide wingers.
2) Controlling match pace:
This is one of his biggest strengths. Zubimendi knows when to move the ball faster or slower. He reads the game so well and try to control it with the way he passes the ball. He sets the passing tone for his co-midfielders.
3) Reliability without the ball:
This is a key attribute every defensive midfielders must have and it is one Zubimendi has in full. without the ball, he is defensively clever, knowing when to engage his opponent and when not to. His presence has helped Real Sociedad stay relatively compact whenever they surrender possession.
4) Good tackler:
Who else loves to see a clean tackle when watching a game? I do. Zubimendi reads and understands the game so well that he knows how to often make a clean tackle and take the ball away from his opponent. This quality has seen Real Sociedad score some quick counter goals.
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Keep checking, I will make a post soon about his weaknesses.