Gary Neville has criticised Martin Zubimendi for his recent performances, claiming the Arsenal midfielder's struggles are undermining his team's Premier League title push. Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 to move top of the league on Saturday, yet Neville was extremely unimpressed by what he saw from the home side's midfield.
Neville's assessment of Zubimendi
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: "I thought at the start of the season that Zubimendi was a great signing. He's been a good player for Arsenal but right now I was expecting that this would be where Zubimendi would be the player. Who's going to be the difference player?"
He added: "I thought [Viktor] Gyokeres would get the goals for them in the big moments and get to 2-0. His lack of quality at the end was poor on that counter-attack. He's got to do better than that."
Midfield issues highlighted
Neville compared Zubimendi unfavourably to midfield greats: "You think of what [Andrea] Pirlo is, or [Paul] Scholes or Rodri, Bernardo Silva - the player who can dictate play in a game like this, get Arsenal on the ball, organise and get them with authority and he's not demonstrating that. He's struggling in the games and he has been for a few weeks now."
He also pointed out tactical problems: "[Martin] Odegaard does it better. Odegaard went deeper (today), but the problem is when Odegaard goes deeper, [Declan] Rice then goes deeper and Zubimendi is already deep. Then you've got three players, or certainly two in deep areas. You can't have that."
Match details
Eberechi Eze curled in from the edge of the box following a short corner to give Arsenal the lead early on and it proved enough to earn a crucial three points. The Gunners had lost their last two games in the league to allow Manchester City back into the title race but got back on track against the Magpies. They needed some good saves from David Raya and a dreadful miss from Yoane Wissa to get over the line on a nervy evening at the Emirates Stadium.
Zubimendi's season so far
Zubimendi joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad for £51million in the summer transfer window and has been a key player for Mikel Arteta's side this season. He has made 50 appearances across all competitions, contributing six goals and three assists. The 27-year-old midfielder has started all but one of Arsenal's 34 league games and is sure to feature for Spain at the World Cup this summer, if he gets through the final month of the season without picking up an injury.
Neville concluded: "It felt to me today that Zubimendi, Rice and Odegaard got outplayed by that Newcastle midfield. It was 55 per cent possession to Newcastle, 45 per cent to Arsenal, surprising."
