Is Martin Zubimendi Worth £55.8M? How Good Is Arsenal’s Latest Midfield Anchor?

Martín Zubimendi isn’t a flashy name, but the £55.8 million Arsenal paid says everything about how highly Mikel Arteta rates him. A metronomic passer with elite defensive positioning, Zubimendi has quietly become one of Europe’s most reliable holding midfielders at Real Sociedad.

Now, with Arsenal chasing the final piece of a title-winning puzzle, the question is simple: is he really that good? In an era where deep-lying midfielders are the brainstems of elite teams, Zubimendi’s intelligence and ball security might make him worth every penny. Here’s what makes him tick. And why Arsenal wanted him so badly.

What Type of Midfielder Is Martín Zubimendi, and Where Would He Fit at Arsenal?

Martin Zubimendi is a classic holding midfielder. He fulfills an archetype of a player who is a midfield general, focusing on holding positions for the team in and out of possession and being the one to largely direct traffic through his passing.

A player of high footballing intelligence, Zubimendi was valued highly in La Liga, with Arsenal needing to spend more than a year both to convince Zubi to leave the Real Sociedad machine – and to convince him to join the Arsena project over Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Zubimendi is a No. 6 who excels at the base of the midfield, whether that’s as a single or double pivot. Because he is better at the technical and tactical side of the game, he works best in a double pivot with another player who can share the workload of running and defending.

At Arsenal, Zubimendi slots in best at the base of the midfield alongside Declan Rice, where the two can form a double pivot that allows attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard, another La Real alumnus, more room to playmake.

Martin Zubimendi’s Best Position: Is He a Pure 6 or More Than a Defensive Midfielder?

Although Martin Zubimendi can play as an eight if necessary, he’s pretty much as pure of a No. 6 as it gets in the modern game. He thrives off sitting further back, spraying passes out to teammates, and recycling possession in ways that maximize the attacking threat of future passes.

Zubimendi plays the mental game as well as any midfielder in Europe, and keeping him further back where he can see more of the pitch and focus more on defending passing lanes or making the first important pass in a sequence is best.

Martín Zubimendi Stats Breakdown: Passing, Tackling, and Defensive IQ Explained

Over the past year, Martin Zubimendi is in the 77th percentile among all midfielders in interceptions and the 85th in aerial duels won. Because he’s so smart, he’s able to make interventions without having to make tackles, which is why, relatively speaking, he intercepts more passes on the ground and through the air than tackles he makes.

But he’s still an active tackling presence with good physical tools. He averaged 2.0 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game, yielding a meager 0.4 dribbles completed per match. That would be an incredible ratio of tackles to dribbles allowed for a center back, but for a defensive midfielder, it’s downright insane.

As a passer, Zubimendi is more of an orchestrator than a creator, so he isn’t going to get very many assists or even key passes. He mostly focuses on making difficult, line-breaking passes, especially in transition, that get the ball into the final third. Last season, he averaged over 5.5 progressive passes per game.

Is Martín Zubimendi Good Enough for a Title-Challenging Arsenal?

There’s a reason why Zubimendi was wanted by Real Madrid and Barcelona so badly, and Premier League title-challengers, such as Liverpool, were also highly keen on the 26-year-old Spanish international.

So, clearly, other top teams rate Zubimendi as being good enough for not just a league title-challenger but a Champions League contender. That’s where Arsenal are after losing in the semifinals to eventual winners PSG.

Zubimendi once led Real Sociedad to a top-four finish, and that was back when he was still only 23 years old. More experienced now, Zubi is ready for the big time, and he was easily the best No. 6 that money could buy this summer.

Is £55.8M a Fair Price? Breaking Down Zubimendi’s Transfer Value in 2025

To that point, while 55.8 million pounds (or 65 million euros) might seem like a lot of money, there are at least three other clubs who would have gladly paid that amount to sign Zubimendi, as that was his release clause with Real Sociedad.

Real Madrid spent considerably more than that on Aurelien Tchouameni (at least 80 million euros), and Zubimendi has been at least as good as the Frenchman in the same league over the past couple of seasons.

Arsenal wanted to sign Zubi and his profile, and they weren’t going to get a replica player on the market. And even if there were, that player would have went for the same amount, looking at the prices similar players like Tchouameni have gone for.

Could Zubimendi Be Arsenal’s Version of Sergio Busquets?

In an ideal world, that’s what Mikel Arteta, a former Real Sociedad center midfielder himself, would see Zubimendi as being in his tactical system, especially since he plays so heavily off of the ideas that Pep Guardiola, who popularized Sergio Busquets’s role, imparted on him at Manchester City.

The reality is that Zubimendi isn’t anywhere near the player Busquets is, but that’s also because Busquets is quite literally one of the greatest La Liga players of all time.

But Zubi can bring some of the same skills to the table. He’s elite defensively, he reads the game incredibly well, he makes his teammates better, he wins more balls than you would think he should, and he puts his teammates in positions to succeed.

Anyone thinking Zubimendi is the same caliber of player will be disappointed, but it’s perfectly reasonable to expect Zubimendi to play this role in the Arteta system and to do an excellent job at it.

Martín Zubimendi Injury Record and Availability: Can Arsenal Rely on Him All Season?

The best ability is often times availability, and Arsenal were hurt significantly by key injuries last season. Those were mostly to the attacking players, like Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, as Declan Rice was healthy again throughout the campaign.

Martin Zubimendi has only missed 10 games since the 2020/21 season and never missed a game with an injury in the previous campaign. The most number of games the Spanish international missed in a single season was seven with hamstring and hip issues in the 2023/24 campaign, but they did not bother him again last season.

Arsenal can count on Zubimendi to be healthy week in and week out, and between Zubi and Rice, the Gunners have a pair of midfielders they can consistently rely upon.