Ian Wright questions Arsenal star who ‘couldn’t hold onto the ball’ against Man City

Ian Wright questioned the performance of Arsenal star Martin Zubimendi following their Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City.

The Gunners fell to a 2-0 defeat at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, undone by two second-half goals from Nico O’Reilly.

After a tight first-half, City took control after the break, piling the pressure on with Arsenal unable to find an outlet in midfield as they defended deep.

Mikel Arteta was without two key options in midfield with Eberechi Eze ruled out with an ankle injury and Martin Odegaard still recovering from a knee problem.

Kai Havertz joined Zubimendi and Declan Rice in midfield but the trio consistently struggled to get on the ball and take control.

Assessing Arsenal’s display, club legend Wright highlighted those shortcomings in midfield as a key reason behind the limp performance, believing Zubimendi in particular struggled.

‘I wanted us to put in the type of performance where if they are beaten, they played well and tried to do what they do,’ Wright said post-match.

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‘They pressed us high, we knocked it long and couldn’t hold it.

‘We didn’t have any midfielders… I think Zubimendi’s numbers will be interesting to see, I  don’t think he held onto the ball, he couldn’t get on it to get our team playing.

‘We couldn’t get out.

In the end, it all just fell in on ourselves.

It is a very disappointing one for me.

It was a really poor performance in the end.

‘We know the quality he [Zubimendi] has got, even he couldn’t get going today.’