Arsenal are preparing for a Champions League clash on Wednesday night against Slavia Prague , as they hope to get back to winning ways in Europe. Last time out, the Gunners drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, their Premier League form has been excellent recently, winning their last four. It seems that Mikel Arteta has found a consistent starting XI, particularly in midfield. There were a lot of questions about the Arsenal midfield before the season, with Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Bruno Guimaraes competing for minutes.
In recent games, such as against Liverpool, Everton, Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich, Arteta has always opted for Rice and Odegaard as two of his controllers in the middle. Alongside them, it has been either Guimaraes or Merino, but Bruno G has emerged as the first choice.
Zubimendi has reluctantly become somewhat of a second thought for Arteta , as he has only started in the Carabao Cup this season, when Arteta has rotated his squad. It seems that the Spaniard has become a victim of Arsenal's depth.
In his pre-match press conference , Arteta was asked about Zubimendi and his lack of minutes. The slightly worrying thing, from the midfielder's point of view, is that Arteta mentioned 'performing' and 'helping the team to win' as his main reasons for team selection.
He said: "He's [Zubimendi] a very important player for us. He's been a bit unlucky with what happened with the ankle, and with the nose afterwards. He had some minutes as well, and we have options in midfield. Like anybody else, everybody has to be ready.
"Everybody is going to have the chances to play. Then it's about performing and helping the team to win football matches. But his energy, his application and his will to help are unquestionable, and he's an unbelievable player for us."
Arteta saying it's about performing when asked about Zubimendi suggests he believes the Spaniard hasn't been on the same level as, for example, Guimaraes, who has been the first choice. If that is the case, then Zubimendi's minutes look ever more restricted.
Zubimendi and Merino are in similar positions with their lack of starts. Still, Merino has started twice in the Champions League and once in the Premier League, clearly showing that Arteta trusts him more. Furthermore, with the emergence of Lewis-Skelly as a regular midfield option, Zubimendi's role at Arsenal could be reduced to simply a squad player on the bench.
This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com as Martin Zubimendi should be worried after hearing Arteta's Arsenal lineup comments .
