Missed Martin Zubimendi deal unleashed secret Liverpool weapon

Arsenal have managed to do something that Liverpool weren’t able to do last summer. They’ve signed Martin Zubimendi.

The Spaniard was heavily linked with a move to Anfield following Euro 2024 - and Liverpool even made the decision to unlock his Real Sociedad release clause.

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Despite that agreement being reached between the clubs, Zubimendi was minded to stay for one more year at least in his hometown club.

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It’s been an indifferent campaign for the Basque giants - and the Spain international has now decided the time is right to move on.

Losing Zubimendi means finding Gravenberch

The 26-year-old has no doubt been attracted by the prospect of working with fellow La Real academy graduate Mikel Arteta. He will form a formidable-looking midfield partnership with Declan Rice and the move will kick Arsenal on.

Whether or not it will put them close to challenging Liverpool’s Premier League crown remains to be seen. But this isn’t a missed transfer that Liverpool should spend ANY time regretting.

The upshot of Zubimendi declining a move to Anfield was that Ryan Gravenberch was given his opportunity to shine. Head coach Arne Slot saw something in the Dutchman that convinced him he could lead the team from the No6 position.

After a title-winning campaign, where Gravenberch shone brightly, there can be no doubt that he got that call spot on.

Could Liverpool have won with Zubimendi?

There are still some elements that Gravenberch needs to work on; his durability was called into question towards the end of the season and he was replaced from the bench quite often towards the run-in.

But Liverpool’s conditioning team can get busy on that, ensuring that the Dutchman can stand up to the rigours of another testing season in four competitions.

There are no guarantees that the Reds could have won the league with Zubimendi in the team instead of Gravenberch. And as it transpired, missing out on Zubimendi had a profound effect on the team - and of course on Gravenberch on an individual level.

Gravenberch dominates Zubimendi

He brings a different characteristic to the team than Zubimendi would. Although the Spain international fares well on progressive passes - according to FBREF - Gravenberch is far more progressive when it comes to carrying the ball upfield.

He completed more take-ons during the 2024/25 league season (37) than Zubimendi attempted (28) in LaLiga.

Gravenberch made 1396 carries as opposed to Zubimendi’s total of 1074.

Those carries accounted for 7452 yards, whereas Zubimendi’s yardage was 5591.

Progressive carries? 70 vs 38.

And for carries into the final third, the numbers heavily favour Gravenberch (75) over Gravenberch (34).

That was a key facet of Liverpool’s play last season; Gravenberch would perform his trademark turn, weave through his opponents in midfield and tilt the pitch in Liverpool’s favour.

It was the Reds’ secret weapon, getting the team into the opposition half and unleashing the threat of the wide attackers.

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Who knows, if the Anfield club had signed Zubimendi instead, we might never have witnessed it. Let Arsenal celebrate the signing of Zubimendi because Liverpool have got a far more suitable midfielder for their needs already.