Overview
- Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-2 in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge, with Martin Zubimendi scoring the decisive goal to give Arsenal a one-goal edge for the second leg.
- The nominal holding midfielder is pushing into advanced areas more often, with his penalty-area touches rising from 0.88 to 1.95 per 90 minutes since December.
- William Saliba praised Zubimendi’s composure under pressure and joked he has scored “too many goals” for a number six this season.
- Mikel Arteta hailed Zubimendi’s all-round game and said his qualities are similar to Declan Rice’s.
- Signed from Real Sociedad in July 2025 for around £60m, Zubimendi is being touted by some commentators as one of the summer’s standout signings.