Real Madrid's Midfield Struggles: The Case for Martín Zubimendi
Real Madrid are discovering what it costs to say no to Rodri.
They passed on the chance to sign him. Now the bill is arriving every time José Mourinho’s side try to control a big game and find they simply can’t. The defeat against Inter Milan stripped everything bare: Madrid lack a true organiser in midfield, someone at the level Barcelona enjoy with Rodri.
A team that runs, but doesn’t rule
As reported by Sport, Mourinho’s Madrid do not dominate matches. They survive them. The plan leans heavily on fast breaks, on the chaos that gives Vinícius, Mbappé and Bellingham space to kill teams in the final third.
When it works, it looks devastating. When it doesn’t, the flaws are brutal.
Opponents are winning the ball back too easily and turning those recoveries into danger of their own. Thibaut Courtois has already had to clean up more than once, the last line of defence masking a structural problem the club could have solved when Rodri was on the market.
Madrid chose another path. They preferred a more attacking profile in Bernardo Silva, a player Barcelona themselves turned down. The result is a midfield still built around Tchouaméni, Valverde and Camavinga. All three are elite. None of them are Rodri.
The gap shows whenever Madrid try to construct attacks with patience rather than pace. The build-up stutters, the control slips, and the game opens up in ways that do not always suit them.
Short-term patches, long-term need
Inside Valdebebas, they know this is unfinished business. Arda Güler has the vision to drop in and help. Trent Alexander-Arnold, if he arrived, could offer a creative outlet from deep. Both are intriguing ideas, tactical tweaks Mourinho could lean on.
But they are patches, not a foundation. None of those options truly replicate what Rodri brings: tempo, authority, calm under pressure, the ability to dictate an entire match from the centre circle.
That is why Madrid have already started working ahead of the winter transfer window. The profile is clear. So is the name.
Martín Zubimendi.
An Arsenal asset losing ground
The Arsenal midfielder was already on Madrid’s radar in the summer. Now, circumstances in England might be opening the door a little wider.
Predictions over his future are gathering pace because the pattern is obvious. Zubimendi’s role at Arsenal has shrunk. He has started all five of the Gunners’ official matches this season on the bench.
The loudest message came in the Champions League clash with Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. On a night made for big players, Zubimendi watched almost all of it from the touchline, given only eight minutes at the end.
His reduced status didn’t begin this season either. Go back to the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain: he sat out the full 90 minutes and only appeared in extra time.
When he plays, he responds. That has been consistent. Yet Mikel Arteta continues to pick others ahead of him in his position. For a former Real Sociedad leader who came to London to be central, that hierarchy will start to bite.
Spain proof, Madrid interest
Real Madrid’s admiration for Zubimendi is no secret. His performances for Spain have only reinforced it.
When Rodri went down with a serious injury, Zubimendi stepped into the void and ran the national team’s midfield. He did it not just in routine qualifiers but on the biggest stages: the second half of the Euro 2024 final, the extra time of the 2026 World Cup final. Those minutes are not easily forgotten inside top clubs.
Arsenal paid 70 million euros to sign him last season and tied him to a contract until 2030. That outlay sets the baseline. His current market value should sit in a similar bracket, a fee that would allow Arsenal to recover their investment.
For Madrid, that number is significant but not prohibitive. Not for a player they see as a long-term answer in a position that has become their soft spot.
A battle brewing
Zubimendi will not be alone on the market. Chelsea, under Xabi Alonso, are also keen. Alonso pushed for him when he was a candidate for the Madrid job, but Florentino Pérez decided against that move at the time.
Now the scenario has changed. Madrid’s midfield shortcomings are exposed. Zubimendi is playing less. Chelsea are circling with a coach who knows him and trusts him.
Madrid once decided Rodri was not essential and turned to a different profile. The consequences are playing out on the pitch every week.
This winter, with Zubimendi, can they really afford to make the same choice again?
