"Fantastic" Arsenal duo Zubimendi & Merino given huge praise by Spain manager | OneFootball

Arsenal’s Spanish duo Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi have been given huge praise by Spain manager Luis da la Fuente.

The Gunners duo have been key players for Mikel Arteta’s side, and although they’re not starting regularly for the Spanish national team, it seems De la Fuente rates them both very highly.

Merino came off the bench to score Spain’s winning goal against Portugal yesterday, helping his team through to the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals.

De la Fuente has now spoken about how important Merino is to him, admitting that he’d have done practically anything to ensure the Arsenal midfielder would be available to make it to this year’s tournament even after a difficult second half to the 2025/26 campaign with a serious injury.

Spain boss praises Arsenal duo Merino and Zubimendi

“I already said it, if necessary, I would have gone to pick Mikel up from his house,” De la Fuente said, as quoted by the Metro.

“He’s a fantastic player for everything he gives us, and I also want to highlight the contribution of the players who come on in the second half, just like in the European Championship, and that shows the great professionalism of everyone.”

The Spanish tactician also went on to praise Zubimendi, even though he’s currently behind Manchester City man Rodri in the pecking order.

De la Fuente praised Rodri as the best midfielder in the world, and Zubimendi as the second best.

“Rodrigo is the guiding light of this team, a player with exceptional vision, which is why he is the best player in the world in his position, and behind him is Martin Zubimendi, who is the second-best player in the world in that position,” he added.