Arteta must drop Arsenal star who was just as bad as Zubimendi vs Man Utd

Premier League titles are not won in January. They are not lost in January either. However, for Arsenal, this may well have been a pivotal weekend in the title race.

They may well be top of the pile in England, top of the tree in Europe, but they have failed to win their last three league matches now. They have scored just two times across them as well. This was the chance to go in for the kill and finish Manchester City off. They have not done that.

With Manchester United coming to town, buoyed by their win over Arsenal’s title rivals a week ago, they rocked the apple cart again, this time defeating the Gunners 3-2.

It was the first time that Mikel Arteta‘s men have conceded three goals in a single match for 121 games. The last time they shipped as many as that was against Luton Town in December 2023, when they required a late Declan Rice goal to win 4-3 at Kenilworth Road.

This time around there were no heroics. Arsenal supporters inside the Emirates Stadium booed their players off the pitch and perhaps deservedly so.

This was a performance lacking creativity and inventiveness. Gary Neville cried for Arteta to take the handbrake off, and in the process of making four subs before the hour mark, he tried to. Ultimately, Arsenal’s efforts were in vain.

An own goal opened the scoring before Michael Carrick’s men fought back through Bryan Mbeumo’s effort and Patrick Dorgu’s wonder goal. Mbeumo pounced on a hideous error from Martin Zubimendi while Dorgu’s strike was simply unstoppable. As was Matheus Cunha’s late winner.

Arsenal thought they had rescued a point when Mikel Merino bundled home from a corner but the Emirates was stunned when the Brazilian rifled home a curling effort from distance. United are reinvigorated. Arsenal, however, look down and out. They can be thankful there is still a lot of football left to play this season.

Martin Zubimendi’s performance vs Man United

Since signing from Real Sociedad in the summer, Zubimendi has proven himself to be a phenomenal acquisition by Andrea Berta and Co.

He has quickly become one of the best midfielders not just in the Premier League, but across Europe.

His passing range is exceptional, he dictates play beautifully and he’s proven to be a mighty fine partner for the more aggressive Declan Rice in the middle of the park.

Speaking just a few weeks ago about his colleague, Rice said: “He’s been unreal. He’s played so many minutes for us, the way he gets on the ball, obviously he’s Spain’s No.6 at the minute and rightly so, you see the quality he brings, the calmness, the composure, the way he thinks.”

However, against Man United, Zubimendi was not unreal. He was far from it.

Supporters may recall the moment the Spaniard was dispossessed when Richarlison scored a long-range screamer against Spurs last year. Well, he had a similar hiccup against United, except this one was worse.

Zubimendi received the ball inside his own half and under no pressure at all tried to play the ball across the face of the goal. Who he was aiming for is anyone’s guess. David Raya was the vicinity, as too were Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.

The ball did not reach any of them. It was cut out by Mbeumo who was left with a routine finish, rounding the goalkeeper before tucking it into an empty net.

Up to that point, United had not offered much, but Zubimendi’s moment of madness opened the door and Carrick’s side capitalised.

It would not be drastic to suggest this was the 26-year-old’s worst outing in Arsenal colours yet. Sadly for Arteta, he was not the only one to let him down inside the Emirates on Sunday.

Arsenal star was as bad as Zubimendi vs Man United

A lot has been made of Martin Odegaard‘s form this season. Last term, he found the net just three times in the Premier League as he endured an injury-hit campaign.

This term he’s been back at full fitness but his performances have left something to be desired again. The club captain’s performance against the Red Devils was indicative not only of his own struggles but also of the team’s struggles.

Odegaard has often been criticised for a lack of drive and purpose to his game. Sure, he’s got phenomenal vision, but he’s too often bullied and thrown around, too often scared to play a risky pass.

That was more than evident against United. The Norwegian was dragged off on 58 minutes, having completed a dire 67% of his passes, his worst tally of 2025/26 to date.

Many of his numbers paint an ugly picture. He won just two of his five duels, didn’t provide a single key pass or cross and failed with his only dribble attempt. To make matters worse, he had just 27 touches, 11 fewer than Raya between the sticks.

As the Standard’s Matt Verri penned in his post-match ratings, Arsenal ‘need more from their captain’ after yet another ‘anonymous’ display in a big game.

Eberechi Eze has been in and out since scoring that hat-trick against Tottenham and he’s barely played a single minute in the Premier League over the last month.

However, now is the time for more creativity. It’s time for someone with a bit of swagger about their play to come into their team. The fact that Odegaard, Arsenal’s captain, was brought off without an hour on the clock is a damning indictment of his current form.

He has to be dropped against Leeds next weekend.

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