Twenty years. For a club as prestigious as Arsenal, it is inexcusable that they have not been able to touch a Premier League trophy for 20 years.
Mikel Arteta has changed the narrative in north London, lifting the club from the rubble and turning it into a real contender. But candidates are not champions. That’s the next step.
Twenty years. It’s too long. But Arteta has changed things and, well, momentum is building for the Gunners towards silverware.
Arsenal have ended the season as runners-up in the Premier League for the third consecutive year, but a narrow win against Fulham last weekend moved them ahead of Manchester City and ahead of Liverpool, with a three-point lead at the top of the table, with the defending champions losing three games on the bounce.
Careful and calculated progress on the transfer front is building on Arteta’s vision, and the deal signed this summer could ultimately be decisive in restoring glory to the Emirates.
There have been many jackpots, but Martin Zvimendi may be the best.
The beginning of Martin Zvimendi’s life in London
Arsenal signed several top players this summer, strengthening their entire park and inching closer to achieving the silverware success they deserved during the Arteta era.
Zvimendi is the man who makes everything work and could prove to be a summer signing, not just at Arsenal but across the Premier League.
The deep midfielder, who joined from Real Sociedad for £60m in July, has added considerable dimension to Arteta’s engine room. He’s matured at 26 and it shows.
His specialty is crisp passing that sets the tempo. According to FBref data, Zvimendi ranks in the top 9% of midfielders in the Premier League this season for pass completion rate and in the top 12% for passes attempted per 90. He is a maestro, plain and simple.
Zvimendi’s work builds on the remarkable successes of the likes of Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. There is such balance in Arsenal’s squad and Zvimendi will be hailed as one of their biggest change-makers if they lift the Premier League title this season.
Zvimendi is one of the best number sixes in the top flight, but there are players who can rival him for that accolade. Among them are former Arsenal stars.
You probably know who it is.
Former Arsenal star has rivalry with Zvimendi
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones made an interesting point after his struggling side’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt. He said the elite central midfielder will be the foundation of a successful and title-winning team.
And while Zvimendi is that man at Arsenal, it is interesting to note that Granit Xhaka has a rivalry with the Spain international at newly promoted Sunderland.
He knows the Premier League very well. After all, Xhaka joined Arsenal from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2015 and made 225 appearances in the division before moving to Bayer Leverkusen before returning to England and captaining the side at the Stadium of Light.
Although he went through all the emotions at Arsenal, he left the club considered an important part of modern history. Combatant, tenacious and never afraid to push himself and score goals, Xhaka played little on the day, but Arteta will be delighted to have found his new version of the Swiss machine in Zvimendi.
Now 33 years old, most were unsure whether he would develop further after joining the Regis Le Bris side this season, but he was certainly happy to have won silver in Xabi Alonso’s Germany at the end of his career.
However, Real Madrid’s new manager is even more motivated towards the end of his deputy’s career and continues to trade punches with Zvimendi, who has been integral to Sunderland’s success this season and is one of the best players in the division, as statistics show.
Having started all nine of Sunderland’s games, Xhaka has been convincingly named in the Premier League Team of the Year so far. The Wearsiders sit fifth in the table and have lost only two of their nine games.
Premier League Zvimendi vs Xhaka (25/26) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics (* per match) | Zubimendi | Xhaka |
Match (start) | 8(7) | 8(8) |
the goal | 2 | 0 |
assist | 0 | 3 |
touch* | 69.6 | 69.9 |
Exact path* | 53.8 (90%) | 44.1 (82%) |
Key pass* | 0.8 | 1.2 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 1 | 4 |
dribble* | 0.1 | 0.3 |
collect* | 3.3 | 4.8 |
Tackle + Interception* | 2.8 | 3.1 |
Win a duel* | 3.5 (51%) | 6.2 (62%) |
Data via Sofascore | ||
Zvimendi is not defined by statistics. He is a huge midfielder, elegant and intelligent, and has even been praised by Arsenal content creator Jamie Kent as ‘one of the best signings of our time at the Emirates’.
But still, nothing can be gained from Xhaka’s start to the season. Sky Sports’ Don Goodman hails the man as a “genius” signing for the Black Cats, and it’s easy to see why.
Arsenal are delighted to see his success. It’s good to see Xhaka back in action for England. There is one man who played a key role in the rise of this costume in modern times. He’s firing on all cylinders, but will Arsenal replace the Spanish summer signing with a veteran? You don’t need to answer that.
20 years without a Premier League title is too long. Too long for a club like Arsenal. But they are getting there little by little.
It’s too early to say with complete certainty, but the Londoners have a better chance than ever to win the title this year and with Zvimendi at the helm in the middle of the park, they could achieve their goal.