Real Madrid's Midfield Dilemma: The Case for Martín Zubimendi

Real Madrid are living with a decision that now looks like a glaring mistake. They passed on Rodri, and every big game exposes the gap he would have filled.

The latest example came against Inter Milan. José Mourinho’s side never truly gripped the midfield. They ran, they broke, they countered, but they never controlled. The structure of the team leans heavily on fast transitions, hoping the chaos opens space for Vinícius, Mbappé and Bellingham to kill teams off in the final third.

When it works, it looks devastating. When it doesn’t, it looks fragile.

Inter repeatedly stole the ball back and turned Madrid’s loose possession into danger. Thibaut Courtois had to step in and limit the damage, a goalkeeper covering for a structural flaw. All of it traced back to one issue: Real Madrid did not go all out for a controller of Rodri’s level.

The club instead leaned towards a more attacking profile, preferring Bernardo Silva, a player Barcelona turned down. That choice has left Mourinho still building his midfield around Tchouaméni, Valverde and Camavinga. Three outstanding players, three powerful athletes, but none with Rodri’s calm authority in the first phase of play.

So Madrid’s problem remains the same: they struggle to construct attacks with patience and precision. The ball moves quickly, but not always intelligently. Arda Güler can drop in to help. Trent Alexander-Arnold, if used inside, can offer passing range. Those are patches, not a blueprint. None of those ideas truly replace what a specialist like Rodri provides.

Madrid know it. That is why the planning for the winter transfer window has already started to accelerate. The position is clear. So is the preferred name.

Martín Zubimendi.

The Arsenal midfielder was a target in the summer and may now be slipping into the “available opportunity” category. In England, the predictions around his future are growing louder, and the context is obvious: his role at Arsenal has shrunk.

This season, Zubimendi has begun all five of the Gunners’ official matches from the bench. The clearest message came in the Champions League clash with Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. A big European night, the kind of stage he craves, and he watched almost all of it from the sidelines, handed just eight minutes at the end.

His reduced influence is not a sudden dip. It stretches back to the end of last season. In the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, he did not play a single minute of normal time, only coming on in extra time.

When he plays, he delivers. That part has never really been in doubt. Even so, Mikel Arteta keeps trusting other options in his role. For a player who left Real Sociedad to become a central piece at the top level, this kind of marginalisation can start to weigh on his mindset.

Real Madrid’s view is very different. They rate him highly, and his work with Spain has only reinforced that belief. When Rodri went down with a serious injury, Zubimendi stepped in and took charge of the national team’s midfield without fuss.

He did it when the stakes were highest. Think of the second half of the Euro 2024 final. Think of extra time in the 2026 World Cup final. Those are minutes that define careers. He handled them.

Arsenal paid 70 million euros to bring him in last season and tied him to a contract until 2030. Any negotiation starts from there. His market value should sit in a similar bracket, a fee that would allow Arsenal to recover their investment. From Madrid’s point of view, that number is significant but not prohibitive.

They will not be alone at the table. Chelsea are tracking him closely under Xabi Alonso, a coach who already wanted Zubimendi when he was a candidate to take over at Real Madrid. On that occasion, Florentino Pérez chose another path and did not sign him.

Now the picture is different. Madrid’s midfield lacks a true conductor. Zubimendi is available more often than he plays. A winter window is coming.

Does Pérez correct the original Rodri mistake with a bold move for Zubimendi, or does Madrid let another controller slip through their fingers while the same problem keeps deciding the biggest nights?