'No, no': Martin Zubimendi makes Arsenal admission after impressive start to season

In partnership with

Evening Standard

·21 de outubro de 2025

'No, no': Martin Zubimendi makes Arsenal admission after impressive start to season

The summer signing has made an instant impact in north London

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

Vídeos OneFootball

Sign up

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Martin Zubimendi has told Arsenal fans that they have yet to see the best of him.

Zubimendi has made an impressive start to life in north London after joining Arsenal from Real Sociedad in the summer for around £60million.

The midfielder has started nine of Arsenal’s 11 games in all competitions, helping the Gunners climb to the top of the Premier League.

But asked by Radio Marca if he is playing at his best level, Zubimendi said: “No, no, not yet.

“That’s what we’re working on, trying to do the best we can, but from my somewhat more critical perspective, I still have a lot of room for improvement.

“This change (moving to Arsenal), I wanted to make as a demonstration, especially to myself, that I was capable of dealing with something like this - and I think maturity is part of this whole process I’m going through. At first glance, there are a lot of changes, and sometimes it’s a bit daunting, but it was more or less what I wanted.

“They (my Arsenal team-mates) made things very easy for me once I arrived here. I have several Spanish-speaking colleagues and also quite a few people on the staff, and I’ve been surprised by how kind and approachable everyone is.”

Zubimendi followed in the footsteps of Mikel Merino by moving to Arsenal during the most recent transfer window.

The pair played together at Real Sociedad and Arsenal wanted to sign them both in the summer of 2024, but could only get a deal done for Merino.

The Gunners returned a year later to sign Zubimendi, but he has stressed how Merino moving to Arsenal was not the main reason he signed for them.

“Of course it’s appreciated, but it wasn’t decisive for me being here,” he said. “It wasn’t key to this move.

“I wanted to make my own path, and it just so happens that we chose the same destination, but it wasn’t relevant when we decided to take it.”

Arsenal are looking to continue on their fine start to the season on Tuesday when they host Atletico Madrid.

The Gunners have won both their opening two games in the Champions League, beating Athletic Club and Olympiacos.

“We’re a very hard-working team, we thoroughly analyse our opponent’s strengths and weaknesses before each match,” said Zubimendi.

“The staff does a tremendous job giving us the tools we need to make everything easier. Set-pieces are something we work on every day. You can also see it in our league, it’s not just us, but there are many teams scoring goals. It’s an aspect I’ve had to improve and pay a lot of attention to.”