Martin Zubimendi’s pre-season displays for Arsenal offered clues as to why the club were willing to wait a year to sign him. The 26-year-old, whose £51m move from Real Sociedad was tentatively agreed last summer, has already made a positive impression.
The real tests are still to come, of course, starting at Old Trafford. But Mikel Arteta is already lauding his “incredible” presence and the speed and quality of his decision-making. “It’s something very uncommon to find in a midfielder,”.
That intelligence stood out to those who worked with him in Spain too. “Like Xabi Alonso in the way he sees football,” says a former coach. “So good tactically,” says an old team-mate. The early evidence suggests Arteta is eager to tap into it in unexpected ways.
Zubimendi has arrived as a No 6. The club view him as a world-class addition in the position. But it was striking how frequently he pushed forward in possession during Arsenal’s pre-season games, particularly in last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Athletic Club.
Zubimendi produced the assist for Viktor Gyokeres’ opening goal with a pinpoint cross from the right-hand corner of the penalty area. Later, he could be seen setting up another chance for Kai Havertz with a backheel from inside the six-yard box.
Mostly, he operated further back, picking the ball up from Arsenal’s defenders, circulating possession and threading passes forward. Clearly, though, his qualities can be impactful in the final third. He also has a perfect facilitator in Declan Rice.
It was anticipated that Zubimendi’s arrival would free up Rice in his left-sided No 8 role. As it transpires, though, it might be more of a mutual arrangement. Against Athletic Club, the pair interchanged positions. When Zubimendi went forward, Rice dropped back.
It is a tactical detail few anticipated but it is easy to see the logic. Why not harness Zubimendi’s vision and passing ability in forward areas, especially against deep-lying defences? Who better than Rice, with all his athleticism, to sweep up behind him in those moments?
Zubimendi will bring huge value to the No 6 role. Rice will continue to be impactful as a No 8 too with his drive and growing goal threat. But their complementary qualities, and Zubimendi’s rare tactical intelligence, may also offer up unexpected possibilities.
Cunha to unlock Dorgu?
Much of the focus at Old Trafford on Sunday will fall on Manchester United’s new recruits. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko have arrived at a combined cost of £207.2m.
The club hope the trio will transform their attack.
It will be interesting to see how they might impact the players already in place at the club too. Patrick Dorgu, the left wing-back signed from Lecce in a deal worth £30m in January, could benefit immensely from the arrival of Cunha in particular.
Dorgu impressed only in patches last season as he struggled to develop much of an understanding with Alejandro Garnacho. Both players like to make runs and drive with the ball up the left flank. Dorgu was often crowded out of his favoured zones.
It helps to explain why Garnacho is now viewed as expendable by Ruben Amorim, and why club have recruited a player with very different strengths to occupy his role. Cunha excels on the inside, dropping deep to combine with team-mates and pick out runners.
The differences can be seen in their respective heat maps for last season. While Garnacho typically hugged the touchline ahead of Dorgu on Manchester United’s left, Cunha drifted centrally for Wolves. His zone of influence was considerably larger.
Manchester United will also have noted how Cunha’s positioning and playing style helped the wing-back behind him thrive at Wolves. Rayan Ait-Nouri, now of Manchester City, dovetailed effectively with Cunha, becoming a vital outlet as a marauding left-sided wing-back.
Between them, Cunha and Ait-Nouri created roughly twice as many scoring chances for each other last season at Wolves as Dorgu and Garnacho managed at Manchester United.
The numbers hint at how Cunha might combine with Dorgu at Manchester United. There were encouraging signs during pre-season too, with Cunha producing eye-catching displays, and Dorgu one of their brightest performers overall, seemingly revitalised.
Is Sarr Palace’s real key player?
While supporters of Manchester United, Arsenal and other Premier League clubs look forward to watching new singings in competitive action for the first time this weekend, those of Crystal Palace are preoccupied by the players they could yet lose.
Speculation continues around Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi. But at least the future of Ismaila Sarr looks secure. The 27-year-old, scorer of Palace’s second goal in their Community Shield win over Liverpool last Sunday, continues to quietly excel.
His goal in that game, clinically finished from a characteristic run in behind, helped him pick up where he left off last term. It is six goals and three assists in nine games for club and country since he scored twice in Palace’s FA Cup semi-final win over Aston Villa. He also buried his penalty in Sunday’s shootout at Wembley.
Sarr typifies Palace’s direct, counter-attacking approach under Oliver Glasner and he is a creator as well as a goal scorer. His total of 17 big chances created in the Premier League last season was bettered only by Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka.
Eze created 11, by comparison, and Sarr posted superior underlying numbers too. The all-round attacking threat brought by the Senegal international is underlined by his average of 0.58 non-penalty expected goals and expected assists combined per 90 minutes.
Only 11 players recorded a higher figure than that. It is a list which features some of the Premier League’s most celebrated attackers. Maybe it’s time to put Sarr in the same bracket.
Who else to keep an eye on
A first chance to see new signings in Premier League action is always a highlight of the opening weekend. West Ham’s Malick Diouf, scorer of six goals for Slavia Prague from full-back last season, has caught the eye in pre-season.
