When Gabriel Martinelli’s late dart and pass was followed by an exquisite touch and finish by Kai Havertz to clinch a late 1-0 win at Sporting Lisbon, it once again highlighted the impact of our substitutes this season.
The duo were introduced by Mikel Arteta to turn the tide in our favour, and they delivered to hand us the advantage in our Champions League quarter-final. But across all competitions this term, our “finishers” as Mikel labels them, have been putting up massive numbers.
Kai’s strike in the Portuguese capital was the 24th time a sub has netted for us in 2025/26, while Gabi’s assist took that total from our replacements up to 14. The Brazilian has been the biggest difference-maker when introduced off the bench with eight goal involvements to his name, but 13 different players have made a major contribution:
Most goal involvements as a sub in 25/26
Player
Goals
Assists
Total
Gabriel Martinelli
3
5
8
Viktor Gyokeres
5
0
5
Leandro Trossard
3
2
5
Bukayo Saka
3
1
4
Kai Havertz
3
0
3
Martin Odegaard
0
3
3
Gabriel Jesus
2
0
2
Mikel Merino
2
0
2
Ebere Eze
1
1
2
Max Dowman
1
0
1
Noni Madueke
1
0
1
Riccardo Calafiori
0
1
1
Piero Hincapie
0
1
1
**TOTAL**
**24**
**14**
**38**
Out of those 24 goals, 11 have come in the Premier League, including our last two - Viktor Gyokeres and Max Dowman’s crucial strikes to beat Everton in our last top-flight outing. Not only did they add two more points to our tally as we chase down a first league title in 22 years, but they also moved us to the top of the division’s charts for most goals netted by substitutes this term.
We’re also into double figures when it comes to Premier League assists provided by our finishers, meaning, incredibly, we have seven more goal involvements than any of our rivals:
Most goal involvements from subs in PL 25/26
Team
Goals
Assists
Total
Arsenal
11
10
21
Brighton
9
5
14
Bournemouth
8
5
13
Aston Villa
9
4
13
Fulham
9
4
13
But it’s not just domestically where Mikel is excelling in getting his subs to make an impact, it’s very much the case in the Champions League too.
Since Leandro Trossard and Martinelli were introduced to the fray against Athletic Club in our first European game of the season in September and scored by assisting each other, the trend has continued.
Only Paris Saint-Germain have netted more often from substitutes than us so far in this season’s competition, but when you factor in assists as well, we’re once again unmatched:
Most goal involvements from subs in UCL 25/26
Team
Goals
Assists
Total
Arsenal
8
4
12
PSG
10
1
11
Sporting CP
6
4
10
PSV
6
3
9
Newcastle
5
3
8
In fact, only two teams in Champions League history have seen their subs net more frequently in the competition than us this term - one of which is PSG’s current class, while Kaiserslautern in 1998/99 got nine, albeit back then only three subs were permitted. But when it comes to goal involvements, we are just one behind Bayern Munich’s successful 2019/20 side:
Most goal involvements from subs in UCL history
Team
Season
Goals
Assists
Total
Bayern Munich
2019/2020
7
6
13
Arsenal
2025/2026
8
4
12
Kaiserslautern
1998/1999
9
2
11
Real Madrid
2016/2017
7
4
11
Man City
2021/2022
5
6
11
PSG
2024/2025
7
4
11
PSG
2025/2026
10
1
11
Our previous bests in the Premier League came back in the 2009/10 season when our subs contributed 15 goals and eight assists, meaning we trail Arsene Wenger’s vintage for goal involvements by two with seven games still to play, although with the caveat that Wenger could only use a maximum of three alterations. The divisional record is held by Brighton & Hove Albion, who hit 25 last term.
The stats also show that this has been Mikel’s best season in terms of seeing his substitutions pay off. The 21 goal involvements in the Premier League have surpassed the 20 we hit last season thanks to his changes, while we are on track to match or surpass our goalscoring totals from our finishers in every season he has been at the helm:
Mikel Arteta's subs in the Premier League
Season
Goals
Assists
TOTAL
2019/2020
5
3
8
2020/2021
5
2
7
2021/2022
6
2
8
2022/2023
6
10
16
2023/2024
12
8
20
2024/2025
12
4
16
2025/2026
11
10
21
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