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Arsenal fans all noticed something ‘interesting’ about Martin Zubimendi during his debut against AC Milan

Billy Meyers

Wed 23 July 2025 14:41, UK

Martin Zubimendi made his debut for Arsenal during a friendly against AC Milan in Singapore on Wednesday.

The Spain international joined the Gunners in a £55.8m move from Real Sociedad on July 6th – roughly 12 months on from another Premier League side in Liverpool trying to sign the central midfielder.

Arsenal fans have been made to wait around two weeks for a first glimpse of Martin Zubimendi in action, and almost immediately spotted something “interesting” about the new signing.

Martin Zubimendi catches the eye of Arsenal fans with attacking runs

The Arsenal No.36 is a deep-lying midfielder by trade, but he got Arsenal fans talking on X (previously known as Twitter) by making frequent runs in behind the AC Milan backline.

One Arsenal supporter wrote: “Zubimendi tends to go beyond the AM (attacking midfielder) when we are in settled play. That’s interesting.”

Another mentioned that the 26-year-old can practically do it all, highlighting that he was both controlling the play from deep and getting himself into forward areas too.

They opined: “Just look at how Zubimendi positions himself on the pitch. He goes from being the deepest player on the pitch in possession to making runs into the box. What a player we have.”

It this was a deliberate instruction from Mikel Arteta, it is a strange one when he consider how little the man from San Sebastian has contributed in terms of goal involvements throughout his career.

In 236 appearances for Real Sociedad, Zubimendi – who Mikel Merino admires – only scored ten goals and provided nine assists.

A third Arsenal fan added: “Something I noticed about Zubimendi when watching him was how switched on and (how) well he anticipates runs in behind the (defence). Reads them well.”

It is worth noting that Declan Rice was not exactly an attacking midfielder before his move to Arsenal, but Arteta has managed to make the England international a threat to opposition defences – he scored nine goals and assisted another ten in all competitions last season, playing 52 games.

Therefore, anything is possible for Zubimendi with a talented coach in Arteta – who also handed Christian Norgaard a debut – working alongside him.

How Martin Zubimendi fared against AC Milan statistically

The new arrival played 48 minutes of action after coming on at the interval, and here’s how he did.

Some Arsenal fans might have been fearful after seeing Jorginho and Thomas Partey depart in the same summer, but Zubimendi has offered plenty of hope for the midfield department with his promising debut.