🦁 Premier League Player of the Week: The final piece of the puzzle | OneFootball

This was a weekend that saw West Ham walk-outs, Erling Haaland hammer blows and Mohamed Salah silencers.

But who picked up our Premier League Player of the Week award?

Let's find out ...

Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal)

📸 Jack Thomas - 2025 Getty Images

There are times when a footballer’s arrival in a new league feels instant, undeniable, like a single afternoon that redraws expectations.

For Arsenal, Saturday’s victory over Nottingham Forest may come to be remembered as the day Martin Zubimendi introduced himself to English football with the calm certainty of someone who belongs at the very top table.

The Spaniard had been billed, when he joined for a fee nudging £50m in the summer, as a metronome rather than a match-winner. His reputation at Real Sociedad was built on intelligence, positioning and understated control.

What unfolded at the Emirates on Saturday was something altogether more emphatic.

The diminutive midfielder bagged a brace that bookended 90 minutes of authority, turning a routine home fixture into a showcase for why Mikel Arteta had been so insistent on bringing him to north London.

His first goal arrived just past the half-hour mark, a moment that condensed technique and nerve into one sweetly struck volley. The ball dropped from the sky and Zubimendi, balanced and assured, lashed it past Matz Sels without hesitation.

It was not a finish usually associated with holding midfielders, more the preserve of a number 10 or a world class striker brimming with confidence. His second, although the diametric opposite, was another that would usually be found in the highlights reel of a striker at the peak of his form. Zubimendi, ghosting into the box, rose with purpose and guided his header neatly inside the post. Two chances, two goals, two very different statements.

His striking efficiency on Saturday was perfect, yet the numbers only tell part of the story. His pass completion once again hovered north of 85% and those passes were not conservative sideways shuffles. Several pierced the Forest midfield lines, shifting the game’s momentum in Arsenal’s favour and ensuring that Arteta’s side dictated territory and tempo from the outset.

Nor should his defensive contribution be overlooked. Forest, lively in their early matches this season, were subdued here, funneled into harmless wide areas whenever they tried to advance centrally. Arsenal’s third clean sheet in four games was as much about Zubimendi’s discipline as it was about the back four. His positioning repeatedly broke up play before danger could develop, the kind of preventative work that rarely finds its way into highlight reels but underpins winning teams.

The broader significance lies in what this means for Arsenal. Last season, the midfield often carried too much weight on the shoulders of Declan Rice, particularly in big games. Zubimendi offers not just cover but complement.

The Roja international is a player able to share the load defensively while also bringing the surprise of goals from deep. That combination feels like the evolution Arteta’s project needed, the next layer of tactical complexity that can turn contenders into champions.

Others sparkled elsewhere across the Premier League weekend, with decisive late winners and derby doubles. But none offered the same cocktail of poise, control and cutting edge.

For Arsenal fans, it was a performance to cherish. For their rivals, it was a warning. Zubimendi is not here merely to complete the Arsenal puzzle, he's here to redefine it.

📸 Jack Thomas - 2025 Getty Images