In theory, Arsenal’s attacking output should improve because they signed Martin Zubimendi. If a positional team does not have a holding midfielder that can find and play the least obvious, they might as well not have a striker.

The goalkeeper, the defenders, the midfielders, and the forwards all will look for the obvious pass. The safe pass to maintain possession. Afraid to make a mistake.

When you have someone in the center of things controlling the rhythm and then breaking the rhythm in a way you wouldn’t expect, it changes how the rest of the team behaves.

When you don’t have that, the midfield becomes a void. The midfield becomes a space to shift play from one side to the next, not the distraction it should be.

You should want every defender’s eyes trained on the deeper midfielder, watching. You want their body language to relax as they wait for the pass, and when the pass is played quickly the first time, you want them to be caught off guard.

The opposition’s defense has to pay attention because those hard-to-find passes distract. They have to pay extra attention to each touch Zubimendi makes. Substitute his name for any true six in world football. You know how important that type of player is.

They have to wait and watch, and then the pass is played and they react. Now you are giving your attacking players more space when they receive the ball because the opposition’s defense is paying attention to something else.

It’s a strange phenomenon how it impacts the team’s scoring output. Every action thereafter becomes sharper because the forwards become more confident. The forwards are no longer afraid to make a mistake, to be expressive, or to take risks.

The forwards should not be the ones trying to distract; they are the final solution. The deeper players should be keeping the opposition on their toes.

That is what Arsenal has now, and I think you will see they will have an easier time scoring goals from open play, and if they want, be able to maintain possession for longer.

The midfield is there to distract and draw defenders in, the wingers execute, the forwards execute, and the defenders sweep. The entire team is more connected. And that rubs off on the rest of the midfield and the creators in the team.