Unlike some of their Premier League rivals, Arsenal’s summer signings are looking better with every passing gameweek.
For example, he might’ve started slowly, but Viktor Gyokeres already has six goals to his name this season, and Noni Madueke was just starting to pick up steam before his injury.
Moreover, with Gabriel Magalhães’ recent injury, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie are looking like incredible buys.
With all that said, an argument could be made that Martin Zubimendi has been Arsenal’s best signing of all, so fans should be excited about reports linking the club to someone who could be an heir to the Spaniard and has been compared to Rodri.
Arsenal target their next Martin Zubimendi
With reports coming out about Zubimendi’s move to Arsenal as early as January, the excitement for the move wasn’t quite as intense as it perhaps should’ve been when it finally came to pass in the summer.
However, since then, the Spaniard has more than proven himself to be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
Whether it’s putting in a perfectly timed tackle to shield the back four, or driving with the ball and delivering a pinpoint accurate pass to a forward, the former Real Sociedad star really does it all.
Therefore, it makes sense that the club would already be looking for a younger gem who, over the next five to six years, can be moulded into his long-term heir.
According to a recent report from Spain, one of the young prospects that could sign for this purpose is Chema Andrés.
The story has revealed that, alongside Manchester City, Arsenal are already making moves to sign the VfB Stuttgart gem, who has had an excellent start to the season.
However, a potential roadblock for Andrea Berta and Co is that he’s a former Real Madrid prospect, and the Spanish giants have a buy-back clause worth around €13.5m for 2026, which is approximately £12m.
If Arsenal want to sign the young Spaniard, they’ll almost certainly have to pay significantly more than that, but even so, Andrés would be worth it as a future Zubimendi heir.
Why Chema Andrés could be Arsenal's future Zubimendi
So what is it that makes Zubimendi such an incredible footballer and has seen him so quickly become essential to Arsenal’s midfield?
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Well, to put it simply, it’s his impressive combination of defensive nous and sensational ability on the ball, which has seen him already amass a tally of three goal involvements in 11 league games from the six position.
The good news is that, while it’s still very early on in his career, Chema Andrés appears to share this ability to heavily influence play in both halves.
For example, just last month, respected u23 scout Antonio Mango described his defensive abilities as “Rodri-like,” noting that he “simplifies the game and makes the basics look effortless.”
Then, when it comes to going the other way, Mango has praised him for his “expansive passing range”, and fellow talent scout Jacek Kulig has dubbed him an “orchestrator” thanks to his incredible “vision” and “football IQ.”
Unsurprisingly, the 20-year-old “supernova” of a talent, as dubbed by one analyst, also has some incredible underlying numbers to more than justify the hype.
Interceptions
2.11
Top 1%
Clearances
3.65
Top 1%
Dispossessed
0.14
Top 1%
Aerials Won
3.93
Top 1%
Tkl+Int
4.49
Top 4%
Ball Recoveries
6.74
Top 4%
Shots on Target
0.70
Top 5%
SCA (Shot)
0.28
Top 6%
Successful Take-On %
66.7%
Top 6%
Blocks
1.83
Top 7%
Average Shot Distance
14.40
Top 8%
Shots Blocked
0.56
Top 9%
% of Dribblers Tackled
63.6%
Top 10%
npxG: Non-Penalty xG
0.15
Top 11%
Progressive Passes
7.16
Top 11%
Passes Blocked
1.26
Top 11%
% of Aerials Won
62.2%
Top 11%
SCA (Live-ball Pass)
2.53
Top 14%
xG: Expected Goals
0.15
Top 15%
According to FBref, he ranks in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for interceptions, clearances, aerials won, the top 4% for tackles plus interceptions and ball recoveries, the top 5% for shots on target, the top 11% for progressive passes and more, all per 90.
Finally, on top of doing business at the club level, the youngster is also making waves on the international scene.
After making ten appearances for Spain’s u19s, he skipped the u20s altogether and has now made four appearances for the u21s, with the last coming on Tuesday night.
Ultimately, Zubimendi should be Arsenal’s starting six for quite some time, but if they can, they should do what they can to sign Andrés, as at just 20 years old, he could be the long-term heir.
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