After a couple of worrying performances and results, Arsenal brought their pre-season campaign to an end with a brilliant victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday afternoon.
It was the sort of performance from Mikel Arteta’s men that should leave fans feeling excited and confident ahead of their Premier League opener against Manchester United on Sunday.
There were impressive displays from across the pitch, with Viktor Gyokeres opening his account, Bukayo Saka scoring again, and Martin Zubimendi controlling things from the middle of the park.
The Spanish international was arguably the best player on the pitch, and yet, if reports are to be believed, Arsenal could be looking to make an even better signing before the window slams shut next month.
Arsenal target better signing than Zubimendi
Away from the mostly impressive performances on the pitch, this summer has been one to remember for Arsenal, as the club have already made six first-team signings.
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The likes of Gyokeres and Zubimendi already look like game-changing additions, while the likes of Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera have made the bench look far stronger than it did last season.
Yet, perhaps as an indication of just how important this season is going to be, the club look set on bringing in even more players, including one who’d be a better signing than Zubimendi.
At least that is according to a recent report from Spain, which has reaffirmed Arsenal’s intense interest in Rodrgo.
The report has revealed that the Gunners want to take the Brazilian superstar on loan for the upcoming campaign and include an option to buy at €90m in the deal, which is around £78m.
It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Rodrygo’s incredible ability and experience, it’s one worth fighting for, and for our money, he would be a better signing than Zubimendi.
Why Rodrygo would be a better signing than Zubimendi
The first reason Rodrygo would be a better signing than Zubimendi comes down to the options Arteta already has in their respective positions.
For example, while the Spaniard is now the team’s first-choice six, the manager could easily call upon Declan Rice to play there, as he did initially, or he could opt to go with Mikel Merino or Norgaard.
If things got bad enough, he could go with Ben White, as the Englishman played the role during his time with Leeds United.
On the other hand, while Arteta has options to play on the left, none of them are particularly exciting or effective.
Gabriel Martinelli, for example, was the starting left-winger for much of last season and was only able to amass a rather paltry tally of 16 goal involvements in 51 appearances.
Likewise, Leandro Trossard wasn’t able to make much of a case for himself either, racking up 20 goal involvements in 56 appearances.
That brings us to the second reason the former Santos gem would be a better signing, which is his own record.
For example, across the last two seasons, the Brazilian “superstar,” as dubbed by Luka Modrić, has found the back of the net on 31 occasions and provided 20 assists in 105 appearances, totalling 7159 minutes.
Appearances
51
54
Minutes
3707′
3452′
Goals
17
14
Assists
9
11
Goal Involvements per Match
0.50
0.46
Minutes per Goal Involvement
142.57′
138.08′
That means the former 24-year-old “monster,” as dubbed journalist Eduardo Hagn, has been averaging a goal involvement every 2.05 games, or every 140.37 minutes across the last two years.
That brilliant rate of return is only made all the more impressive when you take into account the fact that he had to play out of his preferred position on the left for most of those games.
At the end of the day, goals win games, and when we take into account Rodrygo’s output and Arsenal’s dire need for improvements on the left wing, it becomes hard to deny that the Brazilian would end up being a better signing than Zubimendi this summer.