Arsenal star's private message to dressing room speaks volumes as he admits struggle

Martin Zubimendi has revealed what he told his Arsenal team-mates before the club’s opening Champions League game against Athletic Club.

The Gunners won 2-0 in Bilbao but Zubimendi admitted to warning the Arsenal squad about the difficulties that lay ahead at San Mames. The Spanish midfielder’s message proved prescient in the first half as the Gunners struggled to flourish in attack.

Mikel Arteta’s side eventually earned the victory after the manager turned to the bench, with Gabriel Martinelli finding the net just seconds after coming on and fellow substitute Leandro Trossard completing the scoreline.

Former Real Sociedad star Zubimendi was aware of the negative impact that the home crowd could have had on Arsenal, having lost four successive Basque derbies at San Mames. The Gunners claiming a 2-0 victory speaks volumes about how Arsenal were able to deal with adversity and take full advantage of their new squad depth.

"I've already made sure to warn them beforehand that it wasn't going to be easy," Zubimendi laughed as he spoke to El Larguero on SER radio after the game.

When asked if the victory was a little sweeter than usual, he admitted: “Yes, I'm not going to lie to you. It's a special ground where it's been very difficult for me to win, so I'm happy to do it.”

The 26-year-old had not won at Athletic’s home ground since December 2020, but he insisted that being focused on avenging past defeats would not have helped his performance. “I don't think overmotivation will do us any good,” Zubimendi explained. “Thinking so much about it being a special match doesn't do us any good.”

Assessing Arsenal’s performance in Bilbao, Zubimendi summarised: "It was important to start with three points. We struggled in the first half, but when you're not completely comfortable, you have to know how to compete, and this team did just that.

“We're conceding very few goals, and when we're not good with the ball, the team maintains that focus and that know-how to win."

Zubimendi was not the only player with Basque derby experience in the Arsenal side as he was joined by Mikel Merino in midfield. However, Arsenal’s summer signing, who has started all five of the club’s games this season and scored a brace against Nottingham Forest last week, was recently singled out for praise by his manager.

“Yes, [Zubimendi is] another one that obviously coming from abroad is always very tricky, especially with the demands in this league and in that particular position because you have so much responsibility in that role and you have to be aware of everything that we do,” Arteta said during his press conference. “But such an intelligent boy, a lot of presence, a lot of quality and a lot of courage to play football.”

Arsenal will require Zubimendi’s aforementioned courage as they prepare to host Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. While the Gunners have become accustomed to title battles with Pep Guardiola’s side, a home win could create an early six-point gap between the two sides, but Arteta has refused to get carried away.

“It's about winning again and creating another good moment for us,” when asked if the game was important in the title race. “Consistency, competing against one of the best teams, obviously, in the world. It's a good test for us to see our level as well.”

However, the Arsenal boss will be encouraged by the impact his substitutes were able to have against Athletic. “If you look historically, the top teams, the teams that have won a lot, the impact that the finishers had has always been really, really high,” Arteta said.

“You need that quality nowadays to unlock games and to do it consistently every three days. It's even harder, more difficult and that's what you need. We are very lucky because we have players that can make that impact. They certainly did that the other day and now we need consistency on that.”

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