The title is slipping away from Arsenal and there are several reasons to blame. For much of this season, everything has been rosy but when the going gets tough, everything gets put under the microscope.
The fact of the matter is that Mikel Arteta‘s style of football is not good enough. The build-up play is slow, the attacking players are poor and all of that leads to insufficient chance creation.
Say what you like about Viktor Gyokeres but it’s something of a miracle that he’s reached 18 goals in his debut campaign at the club when you consider the tactics and those around him.
While much more has been expected of the Swede, Arsenal’s wingers simply haven’t been at the races for much of the campaign, with another of last summer’s arrivals in the shape of Noni Madueke proving to be a huge headache for Arteta.
Why Noni Madueke has been Andrea Berta’s worst signing at Arsenal
At the conclusion of the 2025 summer window, new recruitment chief Andrea Berta was largely applauded for the business he had concluded at Arsenal.
They finally signed a new centre forward when Gyokeres arrived, while Berta sent pulses racing when they landed Eberechi Eze, a boyhood Arsenal fan, in a late deal from Crystal Palace.
He was also applauded for bringing in the likes of Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi, while that £13m move to prise Cristian Mosquera away from LaLiga looks like a bigger steal by the week. He’s now a full Spain international.
However, much of this business is now being called into question. Gyokeres may well be the club’s top scorer but he has offered very little, particularly in possession. Zubimendi has played more minutes than any outfield player and is arguably paying the price in recent weeks with some below-par and tired performances.
Yet, those additions were absolutely necessary. Arsenal have needed a striker for years and they needed to replace Jorginho and Thomas Partey.
The addition of Madueke, however, was not a necessity. Some might argue that Arteta has needed adequate back-up to Bukayo Saka for several years, but with the Englishman missing most of the back end of last season with a hamstring injury, they had already found his understudy in the form of Ethan Nwaneri.
As a result of Madueke’s arrival from Chelsea last summer, one that cost a ridiculous £52m in the context of his performance levels, Nwaneri has become an outcast.
He didn’t start a single Premier League match before heading out on loan to Marseille. He should have.
The man in front of him has not pulled up many trees at all. The former Chelsea winger has just two league goals all term. He has not registered a single goal involvement across his last nine matches and was substituted at half-time in the defeat to Manchester City last weekend.
|
Madueke vs Man City |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
45 |
|
Touches |
27 |
|
Accurate passes |
11/16 (69%) |
|
Shots |
0 |
|
Successful dribbles |
1/2 |
|
Possession lost |
11x |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Duels won |
4/8 |
|
Recoveries |
4 |
It’s been a disastrous signing, not just because of his performances but because he’s stood in the way of one of the best academy graduates we’ve seen at the Emirates Stadium.
Still, he is unlikely to be the first on the chopping block this summer.
£27m star must be sold by Arsenal before Madueke
Madueke may have been poor, but at least he still has something to show for his efforts in 2026. The fact of the matter is that with Saka out, it’s probably just as well they signed him.
He has played a vital hand at times this term, scoring a belter 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 important when Saka went off injured.
In contrast, Leandro Trossard has arguably been even more abject of late in what was a decisive season in the future of his Arsenal career.
In truth, the Belgian has been an excellent signing. Acquired for just £27m from Brighton when the Gunners failed to land Mykhailo Mudryk, it’s safe to say Arteta and Co have had the last laugh there.
|
Trossard Arsenal career |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games |
Goals & assists |
|
2022/23 |
22 |
11 |
|
2023/24 |
46 |
19 |
|
2024/25 |
56 |
19 |
|
2025/26 |
38 |
14 |
He’s been a clutch player if there ever was one. Ending the 2023/24 season with 17 goals to his name – only Saka scored more (20) – he netted a late equaliser to rescue a point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, bagged against Liverpool, scored again against Chelsea and found the net against Manchester United.
He also scored a vital goal against Porto in the Champions League last 16 and then fired home an equalising goal with not long left versus Bayern Munich in the next round to salvage a 2-2 draw in their first leg quarter-final.
He’s also been a difference maker, a player Arteta can rely on. His tally of seven goals and three assists as a substitute are the most by any sub in the English top-flight since his arrival in north London back in January 2023.
His array of qualities have got plenty inside the Emirates off their feet. Diminutive in stature and ambipedal, he’s cut from a similar cloth as a certain Santi Cazorla.
Like the Spaniard, the way he manipulates the ball and uses his body to evade players is remarkably similar. The way he can feint, twist and turn past a player is certainly reminiscent of Cazorla in his prime at Arsenal.
Just ask Pedro Porro how good Trossard is in tight spaces. The Spurs defender is still recovering from what the Arsenal winger did to him back in January 2025.
Yet, while Trossard has had some exceptional moments in Arsenal colours akin to Cazorla, his powers are now waning. Having signed a new deal last summer that included a pay rise and no extension of terms, he immediately repaid that faith by scoring eight goals and supplying six in his first 22 matches of 2025/26.
Yet in 2026 alone, he has been even worse than Madueke. The 31-year-old is past his best and that is evidenced by the fact that he has not scored in this calendar year. In fact, he has not scored for 22 straight games since finding the net against Aston Villa in late December. In that time, he has only registered two assists as well.
He’s in the worst period of his Arsenal career and it’s simply time to cut ties. For this Cazorla-esque winger, he’s had a really impressive time in the English capital but he’s on the decline and must leave this summer to make room for an upgrade.
Worse than Madueke: Arsenal’s original Saka will never play for the club again
Arsenal have a number of problems on the flanks.
