Anchorman

Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi may come across as polite, shy and unassuming, but don’t be fooled – the brilliant Basque has supreme faith in his abilities as he aims to steer the Gunners to glory

WORDS Dom Hogan | PHOTOGRAPHY Harry Murphy

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When asked for his favourite Spanish player to ever grace Arsenal’s ranks, Martin Zubimendi isn’t exactly deprived of choice. The UK and the Republic of Ireland aside, only France has contributed more names than Spain’s 22 to the Gunners’ roll of honour, after all.

There’s former fan favourite full-backs Héctor Bellerín and Nacho Monreal, the dearly departed José Antonio Reyes and the little magician Santi Cazorla, whose cruelly curtailed career is still lamented across the red half of north London to this day. There’s even another Basque midfielder who came through the same youth academy as Zubimendi, spent time at Real Sociedad before joining the Gunners and now manages the team: a certain Mikel Arteta.

It’s quite the list, and yet Zubimendi doesn’t think twice about his decision, naming the man who for many Arsenal supporters will always be the one that got away: Cesc Fàbregas.

It’s a somewhat surprising pick, though not quite so surprising as learning that his favourite English player growing up was David Beckham. Whereas Fàbregas was the loud, mullet-bearing, buccaneering teenager who left Barcelona at 16 to find his opportunity elsewhere, Zubimendi is the shy, unassuming young man who wasn’t ready to leave his home-town club until deep into his 20s. In many ways, the similarities between the two end with the colour of their passports.

“What stood out to me was that he was an intelligent player,” Zubimendi explains. “He could play all across the midfield, and at Barcelona he even adapted to the false nine role. He used his intelligence to link up with his team-mates, offering them a passing option, and what stood out most was his final ball.

“When he was on the pitch, I felt security – to know that when he had the ball something good would happen and that he wouldn’t lose it. I think in midfield you need a player who is solid and secure, who you can depend upon for everything. I think that’s what Cesc had.”

Security, dependability, intelligence – there it is. Arriving at Arsenal to fill the hole at the base of Arteta’s preferred three-man midfield system, Zubimendi has exemplified those first two qualities emphatically. With 51 appearances to his name by the end of April, nobody at the club has contested more games this season. No arguments there.

As for the third, well, he was astute enough to pick out the slight Italian twang to the questions put to him in Spanish by our interviewer, revealing a perceptive mind, something he was known for in his homeland. In fact, Zubimendi was waved off to Arsenal from boyhood club Real Sociedad with the Spanish press describing him as “El cerebro del futuro” – the brain of the future. As the pivot in front of the defence, Zubimendi is afforded a complete view of the field, building a map of what’s unfolding in front of him that allows him to see things others can’t. It’s not for nothing that he cites another legendary Spanish midfielder as his “idol” in Xabi Alonso, widely regarded as one of the brightest football minds of his generation.

“I think intelligence gives you the option to do everything more easily,” adds Zubimendi. “You’re able to anticipate passages of play, to be able to know where you can get control and where to position yourself. It gives you the ability to do what follows more easily.

“It’s inevitable you’ll hear noise from outside, but you learn to filter out everything that comes your way”

“It goes without saying that, in the Premier League, physicality is really important, but intelligence is still important when it comes to seeing something different and making a real difference. It’s what we call a ‘magic moment’, when a game is bogged down and someone comes up with something intelligent or magical that they may have in their locker. This can open up games for you.”

But when this reserved, oh-so polite midfielder is asked whether that football IQ is his biggest strength, a little of the steely confidence we see on the pitch comes through. “I wouldn’t say so. I think I’m a complete player who doesn’t shine at any one thing more than anything else. I don’t have clear weaknesses either – nothing really stands out with me.”

It seemed for a long time that Zubimendi would spend his whole career at Real Sociedad, so deeply ingrained is his home. The Spanish international is La Real born and bred, having grown up in San Sebastián, where the club are based, and notably turning down a move to Liverpool back in 2024 as he did not feel it was the right time to leave, though seemingly that all changed a year later.

“Moving to Arsenal has been an adaptation I’ve had to make, especially because of the people I had in San Sebastián,” he admits. “I’d never moved away from home before. Whenever I had some free time, there was always someone to hang out with, so here I’ve had to adapt and try new things. One of the things I miss most is my dog; we’ve always lived together until now, and right now she’s with my dad back there.

“Having Spanish team-mates has helped me. Language is a big barrier, but I’ve also tried to make friends with others and learn the English you pick up in the dressing room, instead of just sticking to Spanish.” Sheepishly, he confesses that the first few English words he added to his dictionary might not be best suited to print.

Like many Basque players, Zubimendi retains a fierce pride in the region that made him, up in Spain’s northeast, straddling both sides of the Pyrenees. When presented with a photo of himself representing the Basque Country Under-16s, the image elicits a powerful reaction – even if it does bring back some less fond memories. “I think it was the first time I had to play as a centre-back, which I didn’t really like, but I had to do it anyway.”

Zubimendi is one of many Basque players to come through the ranks at renowned feeder club Antiguoko, which has produced some of the region’s finest talents. He then moved across town to join Real Sociedad, where he would remain for 14 years – over half his lifetime – picking up a Copa del Rey trophy along the way in 2019/20, and a first Spain cap the following year, before becoming one of the most highly regarded Spanish midfielders in La Liga, about the most populated category in world football.

Intriguingly, Antiguoko has provided the first step into football for some of the modern game’s most exciting coaching minds, with alumni including Alonso, Andoni Iraola and, of course, Zubimendi’s current coach Arteta.

In Arteta, Zubimendi has found not only a piece of home away from home but a football brain ready to take his own game to the next level. “Once I joined the club, I realised I had a lot to learn,” says the 27-year-old. “He’s a coach who’s seen a lot, learned a lot and studied a lot. You can see how, since I’ve joined the club, I’ve become a different player.” Indeed, just look at his goal return for evidence. In 236 games for La Real, Zubimendi would only score ten times. In 51 games this season, he’s already managed six strikes in all competitions, making it comfortably his most productive club campaign.

Rather than sit at the foot of midfield keeping time for his team-mates, like all great conductors Zubimendi knows how to bring the best out of them. The reliable foundation in the middle of the park, he allows Declan Rice to make more of an impact higher up the field, the England man matching last year’s tally of Premier League goal contributions ten games ahead of schedule. The reliability he brings the side lets the likes of Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze dazzle defences, safe in the knowledge that the fort is being held down.

In the pressure moments, it’s players like that who can make the difference, and for Arsenal the final months of the season have been nothing but pressure. At the time of writing, the Gunners are in contention to end their 22-year wait for domestic supremacy and within touching distance of their first Champions League final in two decades, not to mention a maiden European title. Just as well, then, that they’ve got someone who can keep his head in the biggest games of all.

Cast your minds back to 14 July 2024 for a prime example. It’s the final of the European Championship and Spain are taking on an England side who have reached their second consecutive showpiece. As the half-time whistle blows, the tension is practically edible, with neither side finding the upper hand in a tactical stalemate. Worse still for La Roja, Rodri has come off injured, forcing Zubimendi to try to fill arguably the biggest boots in world football, in the most important game he has ever played. It doesn’t get much more terrifying than that, right?

“I don’t know. At that moment, the team’s performance in that EURO made me calm, knowing that everyone would be there to help me, that we were all on the same page,” he says, almost confused at the notion of nerves in such a moment. “There are different contexts, but I think that was the perfect one for us to have an almost perfect EURO tournament, and that all came to a head in the final.”

That experience is undoubtedly serving him well now. “I’ve obviously been playing at a high level for a few years and I’ve had some good matches in that time, and that calmness comes from knowing that you can play to that level, even if there is some doubt inside. You have to think that it’s just another game and move on.

“It’s inevitable you’ll hear noise from outside, but over the years you learn your own techniques to filter out everything that comes your way, and I think I’m more or less getting the hang of it, even though it’s a new league and everything is new.”

It would be easy to conclude by saying that the Basque ace has become one of the most well-rounded holding players by taking on a little bit of Alonso, a piece of Fàbregas and elements of Arteta. No, he’s not the sum of those parts; he’s Martin Zubimendi, a man who can enter a EURO final feeling relaxed and now Arsenal’s Mr Reliable, their unfailing midfield marshal with the ice of the Pyrenees in his veins.

It’s quite the list, and yet Zubimendi doesn’t think twice about his decision, naming the man who for many Arsenal supporters will always be the one that got away: Cesc Fàbregas.

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“It’s inevitable you’ll hear noise from outside, but you learn to filter out everything that comes your way”

It’s quite the list, and yet Zubimendi doesn’t think twice about his decision, naming the man who for many Arsenal supporters will always be the one that got away: Cesc Fàbregas.

“It’s inevitable you’ll hear noise from outside, but you learn to filter out everything that comes your way”

Insight

'We're blessed to have him'

Adept at guarding possession and disrupting opponents, Martín Zubimendi has settled in impressively at Arsenal

Earlier this season, Mikel Arteta hinted that Martín Zubimendi was already his “best player” just four months after his arrival, having been thrilled by his performance against Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Look a little deeper into what he brings to Arsenal, and it’s not hard to see why.

The Spanish international exemplifies the modern press-resistant midfielder popularised by compatriots like Sergio Busquets. His ability to receive the ball on the half-turn behind pressing opponents and play a quick pass through the lines has allowed the Gunners to move up the pitch more efficiently this season.

His efforts in midfield earned him the Player of the Match award in Arsenal’s quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP, and for good reason. In possession he was clinical, completing all 25 passes inside his own half, while he finished the game joint top for line-breaking deliveries. But it was his 13 defensive actions that stood out – five in his own half, eight in Sporting’s – as the Gunners protected their 1-0 aggregate lead. Naturally, Arteta is pretty pleased with his latest midfield recruit.

“He’s very good,” the Spaniard said in April of his unassuming star. “I mean, to play 50 games for Arsenal in your first season at the level that he’s done, and the amount of games we’ve won, you have to do things in an exceptional way.

“He’s very much liked by everybody. You can sense that if you go back to clips in September, October, November, when he scored goals or [provided] assists. The reaction and how he feels with his team-mates is so good. We’re blessed to have him.”

Insight

'We're blessed to have him'

Adept at guarding possession and disrupting opponents, Martín Zubimendi has settled in impressively at Arsenal