Arsenal have clearly progressed under Mikel Arteta but the same flaws keep holding them back. Change is desperately needed and there’s a lot I need to get off my chest. Where to even start?
The usual January mess will do. Same story, different season. Every year Arsenal fans cry out for mid-season investment and every year they are ignored – or worse, they are insulted by gestures of faux ambition like the half-hearted bid for Ollie Watkins that screamed “Look, we tried!”
The recruitment shortcomings stretch back years. In 2021/22, Mikel Arteta binned off Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang mid-season and didn’t replace him. Arsenal fell short of the top four.
The following campaign, there was an unlikely title push and Arsenal did improve the squad in January but could only land second-choice targets Leandro Trossard and Jorginho after failed bids for Mykhaylo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo. Fans wanted a new striker with Gabriel Jesus injured and hardly banging them in when fit, but again, it didn’t happen and Arsenal fell short to Man City. At least they tried, sort of.
In 2023/24, Arsenal were expected to challenge for the title and added Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya. Again, there was no striker, the final piece of the puzzle, signed to clinch a first Premier League trophy for two decades. Again, January arrived, fans begged, nothing happened.
Come 2025, it happened again. It was a colossal failure from interim sporting director Jason Ayto. Edu Gaspar’s decision to leave in November hamstrung Ayto and Arsenal to an extent but there can be no excuses; it’s May and once again, fans are saying: ‘I told you so.’
With Gabriel Jesus out for the season, Arteta ploughed on with Havertz as his only striker – a player not even signed for that role. Then Havertz’s hamstring snapped. Cue Mikel Merino, who became the emergency, makeshift striker to salvage Arsenal’s season.
You could see what Merino offered up front against Paris Saint-Germain; his size, strength and aerial ability caused real problems, particularly for Marquinhos.
But when Arsenal tried to build a meaningful attack, there was no focal point through the middle. He was not in the right areas and that’s to be expected from a natural midfielder who has never played up front before this year. There are similarities when Havertz plays. The German likes to get involved with the play but it’s clear Arsenal don’t need a striker like that; they need a killer, someone who can score and occupy dangerous attacking areas.
The Gunners’ toothlessness up top is the clearest problem on the pitch, and it stems from the clearest problem off it: recruitment. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, folks.
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Arteta’s only attacking signings are Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Willian, Marquinhos and Raheem Sterling. Three of those were a waste of time and money, Trossard has proven to be a brilliant bench option but struggles when he starts, while Jesus has been unlucky with injuries and is clearly not a reliable goal scorer.
Count Havertz if you want, but he was signed for midfield.
It has to and surely will change this summer. Viktor Gyokeres has been strongly linked but honestly, it’s probably worth going all-in for Alexander Isak. He is a difference-maker, world-class and Premier League proven. Oh, and him joining makes Newcastle United significantly weaker.
Still, let’s be honest – it’s not just about the striker. Arsenal are now five-and-a-half seasons deep into the Arteta #process, and it would be naive to think that’s the only reason they’ve wound up potless yet again.
There is eternal gratitude for the job Arteta has done at Arsenal. But that doesn’t mean exemption from criticism – especially after a night as disappointing as Wednesday.
Arteta is stubborn. Most managers are. Sometimes it helps Arsenal, sometimes it really doesn’t.
That same stubbornness benefitted Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba’s long-term development. But it also means Martin Odegaard is undroppable. He probably shouldn’t have started against PSG and he definitely shouldn’t have finished the game. Arteta had a brave Ethan Nwaneri sat on the bench, more than capable of producing something special.
Arteta’s in-game management and substitutions have baffled this season, rarely injecting life – only caution.
Ahead against a top team? Retreat, ala Man City at home. Down to 10 men? Retreat, ala Brighton at home and Man City away. At least Arsenal went for it against a vulnerable Real Madrid side.
That win was supposed to be a breakthrough, a sign Arsenal had finally matured in Europe. But up against a very good PSG side, it all fell apart.
Odegaard stayed on, offering very little. In truth, I sort of hope he is still struggling from the ankle injury that ruled him out for two months earlier this season, because at least we would have an explanation for his alarming form this year.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – excellent this season, but still a teenager learning the ropes – stayed on far too long and gave away a penalty. His breakthrough has been brilliant, but warning signs have been there – a near-red against PSV, a red against West Ham. He started brightly in Paris, but quickly lost his way. He should’ve come off at half-time and never did.
And with the game slipping away, Arteta turned to Riccardo Calafiori instead of Oleksandr Zinchenko. Flawed but inventive, Zinchenko can break lines and unlock defences. Arteta chose Calafiori and ended up with a back four of centre-backs.
This isn’t to say I could do a better job or make smarter decisions than Arteta – absolutely not – but Arsenal have so obviously lacked an attacking Plan B too often this season, and those particular calls didn’t come close to rescuing their Champions League tie. Needing two goals in their biggest game of the season, there was no sign of the Gunners going gung-ho.
To make matters worse, some old habits are starting to creep back in. Defensive set-pieces, once a strength, are becoming an Achilles’ heel again. Fabian Ruiz’s opener came from the second phase of a free-kick, just days after Arsenal conceded from a corner and a throw-in against Bournemouth.
Commanding centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes is a big miss and one of the few Arsenal players well-equipped for the big moments. William Saliba, Saka, Declan Rice and Raya fit that mould too, while you could make an argument for Jurrien Timber and Ben White. But not everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Gabriel Martinelli, for instance, looks to have stagnated. It’s hard to see him improving much more, and it’s frankly baffling that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was available in January, went to PSG unopposed, and helped end Arsenal’s season. He would’ve been perfect.
As for the midfield, Rice can only do so much. Arteta needs to build around him and bringing in Martin Zubimendi feels like a crucial step. Thomas Partey – brilliant on his day, but too unreliable – should be allowed to leave on a free, alongside Jorginho.
If both depart, Zubimendi and another midfield signing becomes non-negotiable this summer. And beyond that, Arteta – whose Champions League delusions are a whole other issue – must also be looking to upgrade on Martinelli as well as finally addressing the striker problem once and for all.
Prepare for a huge summer – one that, hopefully, means fans won’t be begging for a shiny new toy next January. Make no mistake: next season is make or break for Arteta. If Arsenal end it empty-handed again, someone else will need to finish what he started.
Yes, Arsenal have come a long way under Arteta, but the fact we’re still talking about the same issues five full seasons into his tenure is maddening. He has done a lot right, but this season has shown that doing most things right still isn’t enough. There’s no shame in losing to PSG and Man City, but there is in failing to address the same glaring problems over and over again. Arsenal are close, but something has to give.
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