{"id":489974,"date":"2025-10-11T03:22:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/489974\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T03:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:22:11","slug":"martin-zubimendi-i-have-to-adapt-but-arsenal-signed-me-because-they-like-what-i-do-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/489974\/","title":{"rendered":"Mart\u00edn Zubimendi: \u2018I have to adapt but Arsenal signed me because they like what I do\u2019 | Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mikel Arteta knew and so did Win. Dogs just do. \u201cWell, of course,\u201d Mart\u00edn Zubimendi says, cracking up. The July day he walked through the doors at the Arsenal<\/a> training centre, the club\u2019s resident chocolate labrador \u2013 a therapy dog the head coach had brought in to bring the kind of calm wanted from the new signing too \u2013 was the first to welcome him. \u201cIt was lovely. I arrived with my parents, my agent, a small group, and he came straight to me, sat by me, rolled on the floor at my feet; that was very nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was also the way he would have wanted it, part of the plan. \u201cHe\u2019s a bit like yours,\u201d the sporting director, Andrea Berta, offered as Win lent against the midfielder\u2019s legs. Zubimendi\u2019s dog, Lea, hadn\u2019t made it to London \u2013 he\u2019s hoping she will soon \u2013 but this was a good start. There was a letter from Mikel Merino and a video call from Martin \u00d8degaard, teammates at Real Sociedad, yet no friendlier face than this. That can help when you\u2019re departing the city you were born in and the club where you have been since you were 12.<\/p>\n

Zubimendi\u2019s welcome at Arsenal included meeting Win, Arsenal\u2019s therapy dog. Photograph: David Price\/Arsenal FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t left home yet; going was a radical change,\u201d Zubimendi says, and there is a glimpse of that here, at Las Rozas with the Spain<\/a> team, preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Georgia in Elche on Saturday and Bulgaria in Valladolid on Tuesday. When you\u2019re away, he admits, you appreciate these moments even more. \u201cThe climate, the language, and above all it\u2019s lovely being with these mates \u2013 the atmosphere is great,\u201d Zubimendi says. \u201cBut the change was what I was looking for. I didn\u2019t have too many doubts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not any more, not by this summer. A year earlier, Zubimendi had chosen not to leave home, where he has had the same mates since he was three or four. Arne Slot admitted that Liverpool had tried everything to sign him<\/a> and he had listened but, unlike his teammates, friends and fellow European champions Robin Le Normand and Merino, he didn\u2019t take the final step. Twelve months on, he did. Why wait? What changed?<\/p>\n

There is a pause. \u201cWhen any proposal comes, the first question has to be whether to stay at la Real,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t the right moment [to go]. I stayed and it was a hard season but I learned a lot. I wanted to step forward, take that weight after others went.\u201d Fans appreciated his staying. \u201cWell, until you do decide to go,\u201d he says, smiling. \u201cBut I\u2019ve always tried to choose the right time and I\u2019m happy with how it happened in the\u00a0end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had watched Arsenal and I liked everything I saw, in terms of passion, youth, the feeling you got watching them. And when Mikel Arteta called me \u2026 Well, if you\u2019ve ever spoken to him you\u2019ll know that he can be very convincing. He\u2019s mad about football, crazy about having everything under control, trying to get something from every little detail. He\u2019s very clear on everything and the proposal he had was the best for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The leap wasn\u2019t so great, not once he got the initiation out the way. \u201cThe worst thing in football,\u201d he calls it; by his own admission, he is quite reserved, after all. \u201cI had to sing: I did La Bachata, by Manuel Turizo.\u201d And how was it? \u201cHorrible, horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otherwise, it has gone well, although he misses Lea. Merino and \u00d8degaard are there. A footballer\u2019s life is similar anywhere, Zubimendi believes, adaptation not so hard. He lives less than 10 minutes from the training ground, north of the city but with London only a train ride away. And he had studied English, even if it\u2019s one thing to think you understand the language and another to turn up and test that. On the pitch, the proposal fit perfectly<\/a>, going to a different league good for\u00a0him.<\/p>\n

Zubimendi holds off Manchester City\u2019s Erling Haaland during September\u2019s 1-1 draw. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

There is a confidence about him too, born of continuity at the highest level: a stability, a maturity, recognition now too. He will be at the heart of the Spain team this week. He came on at half-time in the final of Euro 2024, with everyone fearing that Rodri\u2019s injury was a disaster \u2013 in the directors\u2019 box, one Basque member of the delegation rounded on Spanish colleagues unable to believe that they didn\u2019t have more faith \u2013 and ran the game. He scored the champions\u2019 first goal back on Spanish soil<\/a>. And he has started 10 of Spain\u2019s past 11 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always felt that Luis [de la Fuente, the Spain coach] trusted me but when you\u2019re on the pitch [regularly], when you can contribute, you feel more involved in everything. And I do feel that. At half-time, there were nerves for sure. But doubts? None. It also happened so fast, and was so unexpected that I didn\u2019t have time to think. Often the issue is [mental]. There are players who have the level but the hardest thing is taking that step, finding a way to be yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zubimendi may be the best in the world in a position where even what it is called says something about how it is conceptualised: the defensive or deep midfielder is a pivot in Spain, the piece upon which it all hinges. When Rodri got injured, De la Fuente said the City midfielder was the best in the world<\/a> but, not to worry, he had the second best too. If few followed him then, the debate now may be only about the order. Inside the game, it had already been seen. Slot had little doubt; Arteta had even less. Arsenal\u2019s manager, after all, is from the same city and played for the same team as his new signing: not just Real Sociedad but their local club Antiguoko<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zubimendi (left) poses with Rodri after Spain\u2019s Euro 2024 final victory over England \u2013 his international coach believes the pair are the two best midfielders in the world. Photograph: Pablo Garc\u00eda<\/p>\n

Arsenal, Premier League runners-up three years in a row, a feeling growing that this year has to be their year, were determined to build strength in depth. \u201cFrom what teammates have said to me, the problem was the injuries, that when someone got injured, the team came undone,\u201d Zubimendi\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year the club has invested a lot in having two players in every position.\u201d In having different types of solutions, too. As for the 26-year-old, he was the central piece, a qualitative leap towards a title challenge, his profile one they didn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, I don\u2019t agree with that,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause the midfield there was already very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the demands of his position, he says: \u201cThe pivot has to be someone who is very complete; he has to have the best qualities with the ball and without it, plus the physical capability. He has to be able to do everything. It completes you [to move]. It would be easy to stay in my comfort zone. But I wanted to leave that environment where I was with Real Sociedad and grow in a personal sense, to see another culture, another football. The more you come out of that, the more you develop.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s in those situations where you are pushed to the limit that you get the best out of yourself. I think I have a lot to learn in the Premier League, a lot to improve, but I think I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, if he can learn to belt volleys in from 20 yards<\/a>, as he did against Nottingham Forest last month \u2026 Zubimendi laughs. \u201cJust my thing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Is it as brutal as it looks? \u201cYes. The mentality is: be a man. Go into clashes hard. It\u2019s more direct. In Spain when you get the ball, it\u2019s more about keeping it; [in England], whenever you win it, it\u2019s straight on to the attack. Transitions are unavoidable, it\u2019s harder to control. But [handling] that is not about ability as such, it\u2019s getting your mind used to it. That\u2019s different to La Liga but the thing that has most struck me is the dead ball, how important it is. I\u2019m seeing loads of goals from that and they\u2019re often what opens up the game. We have a set-play coach and we work on that practically\u00a0daily.<\/p>\n

Mart\u00edn Zubimendi jumps for joy after his stunning volley opens the scoring in Arsenal\u2019s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in September. Photograph: Andy Rain\/EPA<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I choose a team on the basis of my qualities too: what they wanted from me. I have to adapt my play a bit in terms of playing faster, more direct. I\u2019m a pivot, but in this structure I have the chance to take that step forward and Arteta insists a lot that I can play that final pass and make the difference. But I think my profile doesn\u2019t change much.<\/p>\n

If they have signed me it is because they like what I do. They know this is what I can contribute to the team. If I changed my profile it would be an error.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brought, like Win, to make everyone else feel better, putting them at ease. \u201cTotally reliable,\u201d in De la Fuente\u2019s words, someone who \u201cthinks more about his teammates than himself,\u201d according to Xabi Alonso, his idol first and his coach later<\/a>. It\u2019s in the person, and the player. The son of teachers, a little less timid as time passes, he is engaging, warm company but there is no show, no desire to be noticed, just to help.<\/p>\n

As Spain\u2019s coach put it: \u201cMart\u00edn doesn\u2019t get nervous, even if he\u2019s walking along a high-wire without ropes. He\u2019s always so calm, so in control.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I look like it, at least,\u201d Zubimendi replies, laughing again. Inside, you\u2019re terrified?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I try to be calm because I think in that emotional state I\u2019m going to make better decisions. When it comes to the \u2018caffeine\u2019 level I\u2019m cautious.<\/p>\n

Overstimulation isn\u2019t good. I\u2019m naturally calm. Away from football, too, it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll ever see me out of control or overexcited. But it\u2019s also the confidence and trust I have in my teammates that gives me the tranquillity to know we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mikel Arteta knew and so did Win. Dogs just do. \u201cWell, of course,\u201d Mart\u00edn Zubimendi says, cracking up.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[2000,299,104],"class_list":{"0":"post-489974","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-spain"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115353390287257280","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}