Martin Zubimendi and the U-turn that set Liverpool on the road to Premier League glory | OneFootball

The fixture list could seem inspired by Arne Slot’s wishlist. After the player who has eluded him so far this summer, comes the one who got away last year. After a game against a team weakened by the absence of a Liverpool target, comes a meeting with a side strengthened by the player Slot hoped to make his first signing.

There was no Alexander Isak for Newcastle on Monday. On Sunday, though, Martin Zubimendi will finally make it to Anfield; but in the colours of Arsenal. Without reaching Merseyside, Zubimendi contrived to contribute to Liverpool’s 20th league title. His was the U-turn that set Liverpool on the road to glory; Slot had already thought of reinventing Ryan Gravenberch as a No 6, asked him to return to pre-season training early, and trialled him in a deeper role on the tour of the United States.

But when Zubimendi stayed at Real Sociedad for a further year, Liverpool chose not to buy anyone else. Gravenberch went on to be named in the PFA Team of the Year. A fringe figure became a talisman. His makeover proved a masterstroke.

Slot sees distinct similarities between Gravenberch and the Spaniard. He harked back to last summer and what attracted him to Zubimendi. “What we liked about him was how good he is on the ball, and how much game insight he has,” the Liverpool coach said. “We thought, and it was true, that we would have the ball a lot in every single game, and then to have someone in front of your defence that is very comfortable on the ball would have been a good fit for us. Especially if he’s also defensively strong enough for the league, which he’s showing now and which we also expected. But we found all of these things definitely also in Ryan.”

But Sunday could be the battle of the defensive midfielders, the team boasting potentially the most potent attack facing the one with probably the best defence. One interpretation is that Liverpool won the league without a specialist nullifier and that they may require one now. Some might say Liverpool need Zubimendi more now than 12 months ago, or that Gravenberch risks being overworked.

open image in gallery

Ryan Gravenberch (centre) celebrates scoring against Newcastle this week (Action Images via Reuters)

Slot would disagree with each element of that. “Not every single game last season was Tottenham away [a 6-3 win] or West Ham away [a 5-0 thrashing],” he rationalised. “And always if you win, everybody is always looking back at some great attacks and great wins, but the amount of times we struggled last season in a game of football was a lot. To romanticise last season as much as we do, and sometimes we make that mistake inside this building, I think that’s incorrect – because last season, most wins were only by one goal and we had to fight really hard for it.”

Liverpool have had to fight again, but in a different way: leading 2-0 in each league game, they were pegged back in each, only to salvage victory with late goals. Whereas Arsenal are yet to concede this season, Liverpool have conceded twice in all three matches, including the Community Shield. A cause is the search for the right balance, with Florian Wirtz as a No 10, the rest of the midfield changing by the game, and new full backs.

Slot feels the schedule is another cause. “You start with Bournemouth at home, the most intense team in the league last season,” he argued, “and Newcastle away; it was impossible to win there but we did. It was unbelievable.”

Nevertheless, there are glimpses of frailties which could encourage Arsenal, and not merely because Liverpool have conceded from set-pieces. Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes out-jumped the new left back Milos Kerkez to score on Monday.

open image in gallery

Martin Zubimendi elected not to join Liverpool last year, instead joining Arsenal this summer (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Ten days earlier, Kerkez was tormented by his former teammate Antoine Semenyo on Liverpool’s opening night, even if both of the Bournemouth winger’s goals came after the Hungary international was replaced. There is nevertheless a question if the new vice-captain Andy Robertson is more secure defensively than Kerkez.

These have been two difficult games to start the £40m buy’s Liverpool career. “That’s fair enough,” said Slot. “Not from him but from us as a team. [It was] unfortunate for him he had to play in the first game against maybe their best player [Semenyo], and in the second game, I liked [Anthony] Elanga already when he was at [Nottingham] Forest. I knew that he was fast but that he was so fast was even a surprise to me in that game. I think he controlled Elanga quite well.”

But Kerkez’s struggles have been compounded by a slow start to the campaign from one of the constants. Ibrahima Konate was partly culpable for each Bournemouth goal, definitely at fault for Will Osula’s equaliser for Newcastle, and largely unconvincing.

Slot argued the instability around the Frenchman was a factor. After spending four years being flanked by Trent Alexander-Arnold, he has had new right backs; first Jeremie Frimpong and then the makeshift Dominik Szoboszlai.

open image in gallery

Arne Slot with Gravenberch (PA Wire)

“Starting this season with a different full back next to him is different as well,” Slot said. “He had Ryan in front of him every single game [last season], and Ryan didn’t play the other two [the Community Shield and against Bournemouth], so it is partly adjustment to each other.”

A reason, perhaps, that Liverpool were champions last season is that they hardly had to adjust to anyone different; except, of course, Slot himself. And that was in part because Zubimendi rejected the entreaties from Anfield.

But now, when Liverpool are looking more ragged and disjointed, the importance of a defensive midfielder may be still greater. And Sunday could demonstrate if the one they converted is better than the one they originally coveted.