Such praise underlines why Arsenal have invested more than £50million to sign Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. With Jorginho and Thomas Partey departing, the club are overhauling the base of their midfield and they first started looking for a world-class No6 a year ago.

At half-time of last year’s European Championship final against England, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente had a simple message for his players. “Let’s be ourselves,” he told his team, in a speech filmed by Amazon’s documentary-makers.

Zubimendi can be described as a metronome, with his ability in possession making him a strong fit at the base of Arsenal's midfield. Many pundits and fans have thought of Decan Rice as the club's defensive midfielder, but the Englishman has been primarily used by Arteta in a number eight role.