Mikel Arteta says he has a very important comment to make about Martin Zubimendi and Arsenal fans should all listen
Martin Zubimendi’s future at Arsenal has suddenly become a major talking point in recent days.
The Spaniard was Mikel Arteta’s big-money midfield signing last summer, and he hit the ground running in the famous red and white.
However, Zubimendi looked exhausted in the latter stages of the campaign, and he lost his place to Myles Lewis-Skelly in the middle of the park.
Now, with the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United, Zubimendi has been linked with a move away, but Arteta has emphatically shut that down with a message to everyone.
Mikel Arteta makes an ‘important’ comment about Martin Zubimendi at Arsenal
There are a few Arsenal fans who would be open to the idea of selling Martin Zubimendi this summer.
The Spain international is an unbelievable player, but an argument can be made now that he is behind Declan Rice, Guimaraes and Lewis-Skelly in the pecking order.
Reports have revealed that Arsenal have slapped a €90 million (£77m) price tag on Zubimendi, but if it were up to Arteta, he’s going nowhere.
The Arsenal manager has reminded every Arsenal fan that without Zubimendi, the Gunners wouldn’t have won the Premier League or made it to the final of the Champions League.
Arteta made it clear that the midfielder was one of the club’s best players last season and ruled out selling him.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “Without a doubt, he was one of the best players for Arsenal last season. I mean, without him, we would never have got into the position that we got in the last few weeks.
“He deserves massive credit. Certainly credit from all of us, all the coaches, myself and especially his teammates. We know that without him, we would never reach the level and the way that we competed throughout 10 months.
“At the end, yeah, he didn’t play that much. He still played some important minutes, but he didn’t play that much. But no one can neglect the importance of what he did and how important he is for us.
“That’s important to comment, because a lot of people end with the taste: ‘But this player played in the Champions League final.’
“Yeah, yeah, because this guy did it for 10 months. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here playing in these finals. He deserves a lot of credit for that.”
When directly asked if Zubimendi could be sold, Arteta replied: “No, he’s a really important player for us.”
That should end all the speculation, but it will be interesting to see how many minutes the World Cup winner will end up playing in the upcoming campaign.
