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Former Watford striker, Troy Deeney has made a sensationally early prediction that Arsenal will fall short of winning the Premier League again this season.
Deeney opened his argument live on Talk Sport with a criticism of Martin Zubimendi, who he said would fit well into the side but lacks energy. Surprisingly, he also claimed that Zubimendi does not possess the 'defensive awareness' needed.
Zubimendi ranked in the top five for interceptions, tackles and aerial duels won
For a player who apparently lacks defensive awareness, 'Zubi' (as he will most likely be nicknamed by the Arsenal faithful) ranked among the top five of central midfielders in La Liga for interceptions, tackles and aerial duels won last season.
In La Liga in 2024-25, he ranked in the top five of central midfielders for successful passes, successful long passes, progressive passes, touches, tackles, interceptions, aerial duels won and distance of completed upfield passes (8.5km).
Deeney's claim that Zubi is not defensively aware seems unfounded, given that his stats really do stack up against some of the best midfielders in the world.
In terms of distance covered, Deeney is again (like so many times in his footballing career) wide of the mark. Had Deeney had the foresight to do a little research, a quick Google search would have thrown up that Zubimendi covers an average distance of 10.04km per game. That's pretty much in-line for other players in his position.
Not only that, Zubimendi's touch map shows that he gets around the pitch well. Although most of his touches are in the central channel and in the middle third of the pitch, he does drop deeper when needed and can join in with attacks. This is not the touch map of a player with low energy.
Not all fans are sold on Viktor Gyokeres
Although Deeney is way off-beat with his assessment of Zubimendi, he is not so wrong in his comments that not all Arsenal fans "are sold on Viktor Gyokeres." It seems that opinion among Arsenal fans are still somewhat split over the signing with many feeling strongly that Sesko was the better option despite the price tag.
Expectation of Gyokeres is high. If the Swedish international doesn't hit the ground running. the weight could once again fall on Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to provide the fire-power. There remains some concern about the strength of the Portuguese league and whether Gyokeres' form will translate to the Premier League.
Deeney's evaluation of what he expects of Arsenal this season was pessimistic, "They'll be better but I'm not sure they can get over the line!" Gunners faithful will be hoping that Deeney is wrong.