Troy Deeney names Arsenal star who is a 'real top player' as he brands goal from summer signing 'frightening'

Arsenal are starting to click into gear with the summer arrivals looking like they have been at the club for longer than just a few weeks.

Mikel Arteta will be pleased with the recruitment given that five new signings started against Nottingham Forest and yet there was no sign of rustiness or players appearing to not know what they were doing.

One player who has made an immediate impression and allowed others around him to concentrate on their own jobs is Martin Zubimendi. The Spain international has been compared to Sergio Busquets given his ability to control the tempo of a game but his goalscoring exploits against Forest have seen him earn even more praise.

Arsenal duo make BBC Sport’s team of the week

Picking his Team of the Week for the BBC Sport website, Troy Deeney has named two Arsenal stars in his XI with Zubimendi in particular impressing: “The technique on the first of his two goals against Nottingham Forest was frightening. It would have been so easy to get over that and put it into Row Z, and his header was nice as well.

“We see so many players that can't head a ball any more and it was really calm. He ran the show and that is why Arsenal brought him in. They want him to be that maestro when they have loads of the ball.”

The other Arsenal player to make it was Julien Timber who Deeney claimed: “He has been sneaky good this year. It looks as though he is fully over his injury and helped Arsenal to another clean sheet with a dominant performance defensively against Nottingham Forest. He is a real top player.”

What has Zubimendi said about Arteta’s influence?

Zubimendi turned down a move to Liverpool last summer and it looks like Arne Slot’s loss is Mikel Arteta’s gain. Speaking to The Athletic in the summer shortly after sealing his move to the Emirates, there was one thing that the Spaniard immediately noticed about his new home after reflecting on his decision to stay at Real Sociedad in 2024.

“It wasn’t an easy time,” he said. “I wanted to stay at La Real, but when offers come in, you start thinking about your options. The first question I had to answer was whether I wanted to leave — and it wasn’t the right time. I felt La Real offered me more opportunities and that I still had a lot to learn, so staying was the best decision.”

He added: “I don’t know what he saw in me, but I saw him as one of the top coaches in Europe. I wanted a quality coach when I left Real Sociedad. I think I’ve found him. In the few days I’ve been here, I’ve seen how meticulous he is about every aspect of the game, so I think he’s the one.”

Arteta was equally as complimentary about his new midfielder: “When you have him every single day, how he captures the information, how he processes things on the pitch, it’s very impressive,” the Arsenal boss said in what appears to be a perfect coach/player relationship.