This title is coming down to Arsenal and there are several reasons to be suspicious. For most of this season, everything has been going well but when things get tough, everything is put under the microscope.
The truth of the matter is that Mikel Arteta’s style of football is not good enough. The build-up game is slow, the attacking players are poor and all that leads to not enough chances being created.
Say what you will about Viktor Gyokeres but it is a miracle that he reached 18 goals in his first campaign for the club when you look at the tactics and those around him.
Despite high expectations from the Swede, Arsenal’s wingers have not featured in most of the campaign, with one of their arrivals last summer in the form of Noni Madueke proving to be a big hit for Arteta.
Why Noni Madueke signed the worst Andrea Berta at Arsenal
At the end of the 2025 summer window, new chief of staff Andrea Berta was widely applauded for the business he had completed at Arsenal.
They finally signed a new center back when Gyokeres arrived, and Berta sent pulses racing when they acquired Eberechi Eze, a young Arsenal fan, in a recent deal from Crystal Palace.
He has also been plaudits for bringing in the likes of Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi, while that £13m move to prize Cristian Mosquera away from LaLiga looks like the biggest steal of the week. He is now an international player in Spain.
However, most of this business is now in question. Gyokeres may have been the team’s top scorer but contributed very little, especially through football. Zubimendi has played more minutes than any foreign player and is undoubtedly paying the price in recent weeks with sub-par performances and fatigue.
Arsenal’s most expensive signing ever
The Gunners have spent a lot of money in recent years.
However, those additions were definitely needed. Arsenal have needed a striker for years and needed to replace Jorginho and Thomas Partey.
Madueke’s addition, however, was unnecessary. Some may argue that Arteta needed enough support from Bukayo Saka for several years, but with the Englishman missing most of the end of last season with a hamstring injury, they have found an understudy in Ethan Nwaneri.
As a result of Madueke’s arrival from Chelsea last summer, which cost a ridiculous £52m in terms of his performance levels, Nwaneri has become a regular.
He did not start a single Premier League game before being loaned to Marseille. He must have it.
The man in front of him has never pulled many trees. The former Chelsea winner has just two league goals all season. He has not registered a single goal involvement in his last nine games and was subbed off at half-time in last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City.
|
Madueke vs Man City |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
45 |
|
To touch |
27 |
|
Accurate passes |
11/16 (69%) |
|
Shots |
0 |
|
Successful dribbles |
1/2 |
|
The property is lost |
11x |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Duels won |
4/8 |
|
Recovery |
4 |
It was a disastrous signing, not just because of his performances but because he stands in the way of one of the most successful academy graduates we have seen at the Emirates Stadium.
Still, it’s unlikely he’ll be first in the mill this summer.
The £27m star must be sold by Arsenal before Madueke
Madueke may have been poor, but at least he has something to show for his efforts in 2026. The truth is that since Saka is out, they may have signed him.
He has played a key role at times this season, scoring against Club Brugge in the Champions League and finding the net in their win over Bayern Munich. His goal and assist in the 4-0 win over Leeds in January was also crucial when Saka was injured.
In contrast, Leandro Trossard has been plagued by injuries of late in what has been a decisive season for the future of his Arsenal career.
In fact, the Belgian has been a very good signing. Acquired for just £27m from Brighton when the Gunners failed to land Mykhailo Mudryk, it’s safe to say Arteta and Co had the last laugh there.
|
Trossard Arsenal work |
||
|---|---|---|
|
The season |
Games |
Terms & Conditions |
|
2022/23 |
22 |
11 |
|
2023/24 |
46 |
19 |
|
2024/25 |
56 |
19 |
|
2025/26 |
38 |
14 |
He was a clutch player if ever there was one. Ending the 2023/24 season with 17 goals to his name – only Saka has scored more (20) – he scored a late equalizer to salvage a point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, was held against Liverpool, and scored again against Chelsea and found the net against Manchester United.
He also scored a crucial goal against Porto in the Champions League Last 16 and scored an equalizer shortly after against Bayern Munich in the next round to salvage a 2-2 draw in the quarter final first leg.
He has also been a difference maker, a player Arteta can rely on. His tally of seven goals and three assists as a substitute is the most in the English top flight since arriving in north London back in January 2023.
His many qualities have many inside the Emirates at their feet. Emaciated and ambipedal, he is cut from the same cloth as a certain Santi Cazorla.
As a Spanish player, the way he uses the ball and uses his body to evade players is remarkably similar. The way he can hook, twist and turn his way past a player is certainly reminiscent of Cazorla during his time at Arsenal.
Just ask Pedro Porro how good Trossard is in tight spots. The Spurs defender is still recovering from what the Arsenal defender did to him back in January 2025.
However, while Trossard had some exceptional moments in Arsenal colors like Cazorla, his power is now waning. After signing a new deal last summer that included a pay rise and non-extension, he quickly repaid that faith by scoring eight goals and providing six in his first 22 games of 2025/26.
However, only in 2026, he was worse than Madueke. The 31-year-old player has passed his prime and that is proven by the fact that he has not scored a goal this year. In fact, he hasn’t scored in 22 consecutive games since finding the net against Aston Villa in late December. In that time, he has registered only two assists.
He is in the worst period of his Arsenal career and it is time to end the relationship. For this Cazorla-esque midfielder, he has had an impressive time in the English capital but is declining and must leave this summer to make room.
Worse than Madueke: Arsenal’s original Saka will never play for the club again
Arsenal have many problems on the flanks.
