Arsenal’s Declan Rice has heaped praise on summer signing Martin Zubimendi after the midfield duo were superb in the Champions League victory over Bayern Munich
23:05, 26 Nov 2025
Declan Rice has revealed how important Martin Zubimendi is to Arsenal(Image: (John Walton/PA Wire))
Declan Rice has admitted everything is easier for him and Arsenal with Martin Zubimendi at the base of midfield. The England star put on an exceptional performance on Wednesday night in the Champions League win over Bayern Munich, with Zubimendi playing a pivotal part.
The Spaniard played a significant role in Arsenal’s first goal, winning the corner that Jurrien Timber headed home. Vincent Kompany’s side later found an equaliser through Lennart Karl as the Gunners struggled to assert dominance.
However, Rice and Zubimendi turned the tide in the second half, leading to a dominant display that saw substitutes Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli find the back of the net.
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Even though he didn’t directly contribute to a goal, Rice was named player of the match, with Martin Keown specifically highlighting Zubimendi’s influence on his commanding midfield performances.
Speaking to TNT Sport, Rice said: “Yeah, it’s been so easy to play with him [Zubimendi]. We only signed him in the summer and usually it takes a while to build a connection, but from the first moment we had together in pre-season, I could just tell that I was going to play some good football with him.
“I just really liked him as a person and as a player. As the games have gone on, our understanding of each other has been outstanding. He’s such a nice guy.
“He is the Spain no.6 and we know what Spanish no.6s are like. They are the best at first phase build up, turning on the ball and playing forward, playing into pockets and that is exactly what we’ve got with him.”
“We all trust him with the ball. If there is a player on you, it is just easy to give him the ball and we all feel so confident with him. He has been so good for us – an unbelievable player.”
Leandro Trossard coming off in the first half with a possible injury seems to be the only negative on what was otherwise another sensational night for Arsenal.
(Image: (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images))
A trip to Chelsea in the Premier League awaits the Gunners this weekend and despite having Madueke and Martinelli back available, Arteta will almost certainly want Trossard to feature.
Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Jesus are the Arsenal stars currently missing through injury with positive updates provided earlier this week.
On an imminent return for Jesus, Arteta recently stated: “It’s about making the steps day-by-day in a different surrounding. He’s been doing everything on his own.
“Now he’s got very competitive players around him, and let’s see how he copes with that. But he’s full of energy.”
