A not-so-brief audit of the Arsenal first team ahead of the final leg of the season.
Well, here we are. Arsenal are effectively in a five-game playoff to determine whether or not they win the Premier League title. In the meantime, they are two games away from a Champions League final. It is time to really lock in now.
To that end, I figured it was a good time to take stock and go over the players we are counting on to get the Gunners over the finish line. So, it’s time for another Player Concern Index. For the uninitiated, here’s how it works: I’m going to go through the entire Arsenal first team squad, player by player, and give each of them a rating. These ratings are based on a variety of factors, including recent form, injury history, my personal assessment of their general abilities, what their place in the squad looks like, and whatever else feels relevant.
There are four ratings a player can receive after my assessment in the PCI. As always, below is the key for what each of those ratings means:
🟢 No long-term concern, this player is doing great.
🟡 A little long-term concern, this player is showing signs of potential issues down the road.
🟠 A lot of long-term concern, this player is showing some pretty clear and significant immediate issues.
🔴 Too much long-term concern, this player is flawed to the point where they are basically unusable and need to go ASAP.
Without further ado, let’s jump right in.
🟢David Raya
At some point last season, I formed an opinion that I was hesitant to verbalize for fear of a headache-inducing backlash. But I think at this moment it’s pretty hard to argue with it — David Raya is in the conversation for best goalkeeper in football. He’s had a slight dip in form recently (particularly when it comes to claiming crosses, a surprising superpower of his), but he continues to produce phenomenal saves to keep Arsenal out of trouble. For instance, he kept out a Christian Kofane shot with an xGOT value of 0.66 in the 87th minute of the return leg against Bayer Leverkusen to maintain a comfortable lead for the Gunners. Before that, he was instrumental in keeping an highly threatening Everton side from scoring first as Arsenal won 2-0. Additionally, his distribution and buildup ability remains elite; I know many feel he would have helped unlock Manchester City’s defensive setup in the Carabao Cup final. So yeah, no complaints from me.
🟢Kepa Arrizabalaga
I backed Mikel Arteta’s decision to start Kepa in the Carabao Cup final. I won’t rehash my explanation, but you can find it here. But obviously, the Spaniard didn’t repay the faith in him. And there is where I think the biggest issue with Kepa lies: he’s immensely flappable (which leads to him flapping at the ball). He’s solid on the ball and he’s capable of good showings — just look at his performances last season at Bournemouth — but he can also lose his team games.
Ultimately, I still think he’s a good backup. And for that specific role, “good but not great” is often the best you can do. So will I advocate for him to be banished to the shadow realm for a bad cup final performance? No, because he helped get the team to that final and it’s not like anyone else on the team not named William Saliba covered themselves in glory, either. But if he ever had to take on a long-term starting role for Arsenal, the current color of his circle would almost certainly change.
🟢Jurriën Timber
At the time of writing, Timber has been out for several weeks with a groin injury. And boy have Arsenal missed him. His absence has made a couple of things clear. First, the Dutchman is clearly the Gunners’ best right back and perhaps one of the team’s best players full stop. While Arsenal have managed to keep three consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League knockout matches Timber has missed, they have also conceded six goals in their three domestic games without the defender available.
The other thing that Timber’s spell on the sidelines has verified is that the Gunners’ dynamics on the right side of the pitch very much rely on him. Without no. 12 in the lineup, Arsenal have struggled massively to progress the ball up that flank, and even more with regards to chance generation. Turns out Timber’s tendency to pop up in the box that we all (myself included) bemoaned were more useful than we originally thought. Arsenal need him back soon if they are to secure the title.
🟡 Ben White
For me, Ben White is one of the players I look at most and think, “He deserves to leave Arsenal with a Premier League title to his name.” However, I think it’s quite clear that we’re witnessing a player who is past his physical peak. He still has some juice going forward, but he just can’t handle defending pacey attackers anymore. And his durability just isn’t what it was a couple seasons ago.
What’s especially telling is Mikel Arteta’s decision to start Cristhian Mosquera over White at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. For me, that potential title decider was a match that required a team one would pick, as Clive Palmer from the Arsenal Vision Podcast would put it, in the “game for your life”. And Arteta opted for Mosquera’s defensive security over White’s superior ball-playing capabilities. Especially with Piero Hincapié, who isn’t exactly João Cancelo, playing left back that day. That says to me that the manager views White as something of a risk in the biggest games.
And that’s a shame. But I don’t think it’s off-base at all. The Englishman has receded into the role of adequate backup, good for spelling a star like Timber and filling in decently for a couple games if need be. However, his time as an important player at Arsenal appears to be over.
🟢William Saliba
It took Marcel Desailly a little too long to give him his due, but a hill I’m very much willing to die on is that Saliba is currently the best center back in the world. I don’t want to hear about Virgil van Dijk or Alessandro Bastoni, this is the guy. He can do just about anything. He can run with any forward, outmuscle every attacker around, and the Frenchman is to my eye improving in his aerial duels as well.
Saliba’s technical quality is top-level as well. He has spent much of this season looking like Arsenal’s most-important player in buildup (although Raya might have something to say about that). He is a secure passer who occasionally pulls out a nice ball punched through the lines or even something a little more clever. And given how tall he is, his dribbling ability sometimes is within the ballpark of “Cazorla-esque”. The way he is able to keep the ball and carry through even aggressive presses makes him such a unique asset for the Gunners’ ball progression. Just a phenomenal player whom I’m running out of words to describe. Arsenal need to do whatever it takes to hold onto him for as long as possible.
🟢Cristhian Mosquera
There is a bit of a referendum regarding Arsenal’s signings last summer being conducted on social media right now, and I empathize greatly with that despite my feeling that some players are coming in for rather harsh criticism predicated on people’s initial thoughts from when those footballers were first linked to the club. Personally I’m waiting until the end of the season to make conclusive judgments, but rest assured I will publish them here. However, one player I’m quite confident will finish the 2025/26 campaign in generally high regard is Mosquera. The 21-year-old has given a great account of himself during his initial foray into English football.
This young defender came from Valencia and for the most part hasn’t missed a beat in the Premier League. He’s a tremendous athlete, which has allowed him to fill in at right back almost as well as he has at both center back positions. On Sunday, he just about kept Jérémy Doku quiet on Arsenal’s right flank. And while he’s not amazing on the ball, I do find him to be more than serviceable in possession. In particular, I appreciate his willingness to try to hit line-breakers. Overall, I’m very encouraged by what I’ve seen and I really look forward to seeing him develop.
🟢Gabriel
I definitely don’t think Gabriel has been at his best lately. Maybe I’m projecting, but I feel he’s looked nervous at times. His display against City was mixed, he’s faded as a set piece threat of late, and he oscillates between threading nice through balls in the half-space and hoofing them aimlessly to Arsenal’s opponents.
But the fact remains that he is currently a top-three center back in the Premier League, and that’s with me being generous to Marc Guéhi. Now fully in his prime, the Brazilian has learned to for the most part expertly channel his elite aggression. He’s an athletic freak who obsessively wins his duels and rarely gets dribbled past. He has his faults, but there remains no one else football I’d currently choose to partner Saliba at the heart of the Gunners’ defense.
🟡Riccardo Calafiori
As far as his talent goes, I think Calafiori is phenomenal. Particularly on the ball, I don’t think I’ve seen many defenders who are so natural in the opponents’ third, so capable of firing dangerous shots on goal or firing in threatening passes. There have been multiple games this season in which the Gunners have looked stodgy before Calafiori injected life and urgency into their progressive play. And I do think his defending has improved substantially in his second season in north London; his one-on-one capabilities are pretty solid now and he’s a very reliable duel winner.
But I keep coming back to the question of his durability. At the time of writing, the Italian has managed only 1,951 minutes in all competitions. And that is largely down to his annoying habit of missing stretches of several games through injury. Twice this season, Calafiori has picked up injuries in warmups before missing extended time.
For all his excellent quality, what does it matter if he can’t be on the pitch for critical moments? To quote Stephen A. Smith (the sports broadcaster, not the wannabe dark horse political candidate he has devolved into recently), “The best ability is availability, and availability leads to reliability. And if you ain’t available, you ain’t reliable.” I need Calafiori to demonstrate he can stay fit enough to be counted on. Otherwise, I think Arsenal need to consider the options. At the risk of jinxing Iran’s national team, I’m honestly rather glad Italy are currently set to miss the World Cup and Calafiori can put his feet up.
🟢Piero Hincapié
A lot of people seem to be down on Hincapié lately and I just don’t get it. I mean, I know why — Hincapié is the signing who has seemingly doomed Myles Lewis-Skelly to a season on the sidelines, and people hate seeing a Hale End player not have a starring role when perhaps they should have had a chance at one. We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, I want to plant my flag: Hincapié has actually been a terrific signing.
Simply put, the Ecuadorian is perhaps the most Mikel Arteta signing we’ve seen during the current manager’s tenure. What Hincapié lacks in on-ball ability — and I will freely admit, the pairing of him and Gabriel is #NotGreat for Arsenal’s buildup on the left side of the field — he makes up for in his physicality and defensive ferocity. Ilove how much this guy enjoys putting in important tackles and defiantly standing over the man he just brought down. And he’s a duel-winning machine, which is never something to sniff at.
Additionally, for what it’s worth, I also think he does have something to offer going forward. Particularly when Eberechi Eze or Leandro Trossard are playing left wing, I think Hincapié is highly effective at holding width and providing an overlap at left back. To my eye, his final ball needs work. But there is so much potential in this player and I think he makes for a great tandem at his position with Calafiori.
🟡Myles Lewis-Skelly
At the moment at which I’m writing this piece, Lewis-Skelly has accumulated only 402 minutes in the Premier League and 1,448 minutes in all competitions. It’s a far cry from his stellar breakout campaign last season. And people understandably have questions. Why isn’t he playing more this season? Why did Arsenal sign another left back to take minutes off him? Has he fallen out with the manager?
One thing I think a lot of people have forgotten here is that development is linear. What often happens the year after a player puts themselves on the map the way Lewis-Skelly did in the 2024/25 campaign is a sophomore slump. I think we can surmise based off his limited playing time and how he’s looked on the pitch that he is going through one of his own. Which, again, is completely normal.
Ultimately, I do believe the future is still bright for the young Englishman. He can bulldoze his way through teams with his direct dribbling and elite strength on the ball. He’s good in the tackle, a reliable duel winner on the ground, and a very smart passer in the final third. And there have been several moments this season when I’ve watched Arsenal play and thought they could use Lewis-Skelly on the pitch.
So what’s the problem? Why is there a yellow circle next to this guy’s name? Well, I do think there is real concern regarding Lewis-Skelly’s path to first team prominence. We’ve already recounted his difficulties getting minutes at left back. In midfield, he faces another uphill battle to play over Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino, and Kai Havertz. And that’s just at left eight.
If there is some comfort I can provide, it’s that Arteta clearly sees Lewis-Skelly as being a future midfielder. If it weren’t for Calafiori getting injured in the warmup before Arsenal played Wigan in the FA Cup, we probably would have seen it for at least a match. But Arteta clearly has several other players he prefers in midfield right now, and there is a good deal of smoke around a possible departure. So I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little worried.
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🟢Martín Zubimendi
Yes, I know I put a green circle next to Zubimendi. No, I don’t think he’s shit. I certainly am not regretting letting Jorginho or a certain other midfielder leave last summer. And that’s because I still think Arsenal have an immensely talented player sitting at the base of their midfield.
I believe there are two problems. One is that in multiple ways, is that the Spaniard has been misprofiled. He’s a tempo setter, not a string puller. And that gets exposed in a big way when the impetus for buildup is placed squarely on his shoulders. Additionally, I wonder more and more if perhaps he has something to offer further up the pitch given his exploits in the final third this season. If it were up to me, I’d try to tweak the midfield so that Rice and Zubimendi swap their respective left eight and six roles more regularly.
The other problem is that he’s very clearly knackered. At the time of writing, the former Real Sociedad man has played 3,926 minutes for Arsenal in all competitions this season. If he features against Newcastle at the weekend, it will be his 50th appearance for the Gunners — in his first campaign with them! To be responsible for shepherding Arsenal’s buildup, rotating with Rice, adjusting to an ever-changing midfield cast, defending against transitions, chipping in offensively, and myriad other crucial details required by his position is doubtlessly not only exhausting physically, but mentally as well. I think we’re seeing the mental exhaustion affect him, especially given his need for consoling by his teammates against Bournemouth and the way his Man of the Match award after the second leg of the Sporting tie was celebrated.
But in spite of that, it remains the case that he is an immensely useful player. He is typically secure on the ball and perhaps would be more willing to try things if previous attempts hadn’t been punished so extremely (I think he’ll eventually shake that off), surprisingly good at winning his duels, quite solid at cleaning up loose balls in midfield, and offers a relatively consistent threat from outside the box. I know he’s not in his finest moment right now, but I refuse to forget the player we saw in the first half of the season.
🟠Christian Nørgaard
One of the biggest gripes I have with the manager this season has to do with Nørgaard. The Dane was signed from Brentford in the summer with the express mandate of spelling Zubimendi and serving as a reliable backup at the base of midfield. And yet, while the Spaniard has almost 4,000 minutes under his belt now, Nørgaard hasn’t even cracked 1,000 in all competitions yet. In the Premier League, a competition he captained the Bees in last year, he has played a paltry 56 minutes.
The mind-boggling thing here is that when Nørgaardhas played this season, he has looked quite capable. He has defended well, even if it’s evident that he might find it difficult to cope with pacier opponents. His passing through the midfield is a little more direct; he has more of an instinct to try to hit balls through the lines to teammates in advanced zones. I can’t recall him being much of a liability. So it’s rather shocking to me that he hasn’t even been trusted to see out a few more games. It certainly doesn’t help Arteta’s credibility when you look at the usage of other players.
And ultimately, I think this will result in Nørgaard’s departure in a few months. It’s pretty clear that he is less of a trusted finisher and more of a nice presence in the locker room who can offer wisdom and an arm around the shoulder. The Danish midfielder would be right to believe he deserves better than the Elneny treatment.
🟢Declan Rice
I have long viewed the fringe campaign to strip Martin Ødegaard of the captaincy to give it to Rice as a symptom of too-online-ness. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t always thought that Rice was captain material. Which is why I wasn’t surprised to see him wear the armband a few times recently in Ødegaard’s absence. The Gunners’ record signing has stepped up massively in that regard, truly serving as the “lighthouse” player that Arteta has claimed him to be. Him telling Ødegaard “it’s not done” at full time at the Etihad really struck me.
I mean, there isn’t really much to say about Rice at this point. He is a complete midfielder. He has developed into something of a set piece maestro, he is an athletic freak, his ball-striking his magnificent, his long passes are tremendous, and he possesses an elite mentality. Not to mention, I sometimes wonder if he was developed in a lab somewhere specifically to be a one-man nullifier of counterattacks. If he possessed the dribbling ability of a top-level ten, Rice would be the perfect midfielder. The title of Arsenal’s best player belongs to either him or Saliba.
🟡Martin Ødegaard
Recent weeks have shown that Ødegaard still has much to offer Arsenal. Without him in the side, the Gunners’ ball progression and chance creation have nearly slowed to a halt. Turns out, the Norwegian is still quite a unique player in the squad in terms of his ability to get the ball into optimal parts of the pitch. Thrown right back into the fold at City, Ødegaard finished top in chances created and several other metrics underlining that fact.
However, another fact remains: the skipper has been quite injury-prone of late. His start at the Etihad Stadium came off the back of his fourth extended spell on the sidelines this season. And despite his clear importance to the side’s functionality, again I must point to the principle of availability determining how much that really means. He needs to stay fit if he wants to re-establish himself as a player who must stay in Arsenal fans’ minds. It might already be too late.
🟢Eberechi Eze
After his wondergoal against Bayer Leverkusen, I began writing a piece about Eze titled, “Arsenal Have Found Their Moments Player”. I hoped to publish it ahead of the Carabao Cup final. And then news broke that the former Crystal Palace man’s calf injury was actually significant enough to rule him out of that fateful clash with Pep Guardiola’s men and I shelved the article.
But I don’t need to write a couple thousand words about it for it to be true — Eze is the player in Arsenal’s squad who can pull a magical moment out of thin air and win a big game for his team. Saka likely would have something to say about that, but Eze is the man in red and white who has shown that more regularly this season. On Sunday, he was a couple inches away from emphasizing that point in the biggest possible way.
On top of that, I think he has really developed as a player under Arteta. Although it still isn’t perfect, Eze is far more willing to take on responsibility off the ball than one might have expected upon his arrival last summer. He grafts a bit more, competes for loose balls, and even chases down opponents with the ball when need be. And a steely winners’ mentality is beginning to shine through as well; when he said ahead of the second leg against Sporting that he didn’t care what people said about the team, I really believed him. All things considered, Eze has gone from a player I always liked to a player I absolutely love. He is now a crucial piece of this Arsenal side.
🟢 Mikel Merino
For me, nothing has emphasized Merino’s usefulness to this Arsenal team the way his recent absence has. The Spaniard has been out of action with a foot fracture, and the Gunners have really struggled to cope without him. Not because Merino is some world beater — although I find him to be quite underrated — but because he plugs so many different holes.
You want a guy who compete physically in midfield while having an eye for a sumptuous final ball? Play him as an eight. You need a guy who can be a reliable reference point at striker and finish his chances while Havertz is out injured? Merino is your man. How about a set piece threat who won’t see your side’s technical quality bottom out? There he is again. You can even throw him in as an emergency six if need be.
Frankly, I think not having Merino for so long has really burdened the team. Players who could do with a rest have been forced to keep playing every three days because Merino isn’t there to pick up the slack. I really think he’s a glue guy for Arsenal. And that’s someone you keep around.
🟡Ethan Nwaneri
I think you can only really say this with the benefit of hindsight, but it must be said: that loan to Marseille has been an unmitigated disaster. I still think Nwaneri would have benefitted more from a good loan than from keeping in a bloated squad and essentially hoping enough midfielders get injured so that he can play. But I really struggle to understand why he didn’t go to a team like Bournemouth as opposed to spending the rest of the season outside of the league.
So, it will be interesting to see the player Nwaneri is when he returns from France. But, as is the case with Lewis-Skelly, I have questions regarding how he fits into the squad moving forward. People are upset that Noni Madueke was signed to take minutes off him as Saka’s understudy at right wing, but a lot of the reporting has suggested that Nwaneri wanted to play centrally. And there, he has to compete with Ødegaard, Eze, Havertz, Merino, and now, probably Max Dowman as well.
Things could open up his pathway a bit, of course. Eze could become more of a left-sided option if Nwaneri is deemed trustworthy enough off the ball (like it or not, that is not something you can skimp on in the Premier League). Havertz might be viewed exclusively as a striker. Maybe Ødegaard departs. But I doubt more than one of those things happens. Frankly, it all really depends on how Nwaneri develops as a player, I think. Unless, of course, the laughably unthinkable is true and the Arsenal manager has an inexplicable vendetta against his own club’s academy products. And I’d bet a silly amount of money that this Twitter-only theory is nonsense.
🟢Bukayo Saka
The 2025/26 campaign has been one to forget for Arsenal’s foremost talisman. The aftereffects of that hamstring tear from last season have haunted him, causing more injury absences throughout the last few months. Even when he is on the pitch, the burst isn’t what it was and he’s too slow to pull the trigger when he gets a sight of goal.
However, the numbers still show that when he’s played, Saka has remained one of the Gunners’ most effective players at creating chances. Indeed, he is still one of the Premier League’s best at generating scoring opportunities on a per-90 basis. And, let’s face it, he’s certainly still one of Arsenal’s best attackers alongside Havertz and Eze. He will still start for England at the World Cup.
But the news about his ongoing Achilles tendon issue does concern me. As we see the likes of Lamine Yamal and Estêvão suffering major hamstring injuries as teenagers, there is a fear developing in the back of my mind that years of immense burden on Saka’s body is taking its toll. If Arsenal can manage him through the end of the season and if England can avoid running him into the ground, I hope Saka can rest up ahead of the 2026/27 campaign and get back to his best. The world class talent is obviously still there. But the nagging injury problems have me the closest I’ve ever been to putting a yellow circle next to his name.
🟡Noni Madueke
On paper, I like Madueke and what he has to offer. Six feet tall, very pacey, capable of playing on either side, can shrug off full backs as he charges into dangerous areas and cause chaos. And there are even things I’m pleasantly surprised about with him, like his very high-quality corner deliveries. Don’t forget, he scored an Olimpico this season.
But overall, I’ve been disappointed by the rather consistent lack of quality Madueke has shown in his first season in north London. He runs the ball out of play with regularity. His decision-making in the final third needs work. He dribbles into trouble frequently and recently, he has seemed reluctant to drive at defenders, which is his bread and butter. And he switches off defensively too often.
I think under Arteta — the man Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané both credit with their development into elite wingers while they were at City — Madueke still has a good chance of becoming a much better player. There have been noticeable improvements this season, to be fair. But he has work to do if he is to convince the club faithful that he was worth the transfer fee.
🟠Leandro Trossard
The age cliff may have come for Trossard in a big way. Almost five months into the calendar year, the Belgian has yet to score a goal in 2026. After a surging start to the season, the man who essentially is the Gunners’ current starting left winger (at least based on usage) has dramatically fizzled out.
And frankly, I don’t see him returning to peak effectiveness for Arsenal. Trossard has never been a particularly athletic or physical player. He has some bite about him and he’s committed in his off-ball duties, but he’s not pacey and he’s not someone who can muscle defenders aside.
But on top of that, I just have not liked his decision-making on the ball. I’ve yelled at my TV screen quite a lot recently because of Trossard’s seeming refusal to do anything first-time on the ball. He always takes that extra touch, even if there’s a great opportunity to play an overlapping full back or if the shot is immediately on.
Maybe he figures it out. His perception would certainly be a bit different if that excellent cross he played to Havertz at the end of the match at Etihad match was headed in. But I’m not optimistic. I’d move on in the summer.
🟡Gabriel Martinelli
The numbers are initially deceptive. In all competitions, Martinelli has 17 goal contributions. But in the Premier League, he has just one goal — which he scored against City in September — and three assists. Obviously, this is quite suboptimal.
Unfortunately, the performances bear that out. I just don’t think I’ve seen a serious improvement from Martinelli over the last few years. He is what he’s been for quite some time: a speedy player who can go direct sometimes and produce match-changing moments of quality, but doesn’t seem to know how to flip that switch at will at the highest level.
In the Champions League, that can clearly be quite effective. And I do not take for granted how committed the Brazilian is in his out-of-possession duties. But if PSG are truly interested in Martinelli and Arsenal can leverage that into acquiring a forward like Bradley Barcola, I think it’s more than worth exploring.
🟢Kai Havertz
A curse on Manuel Ugarte. At the time of writing, Havertz only has 801 minutes in all competitions under his belt this season. 408 of those have been in the Premier League. The German played his first full 90 of the season at City on Sunday.
Clearly, it has been yet another injury-ravaged season for a key Arsenal player. But I’m still high on Havertz for one simple reason: he substantially elevates the Gunners’ attacking play whenever he’s on the pitch. Since returning to the lineup on a regular basis, the ball has stuck in the opposition’s third more often and Arsenal have been able to more consistently mount waves of attacks. He is a reliable target man for long balls and his linkup play is great. Despite losing at the Etihad, the performance Arteta’s men produced was perhaps their best in months. I think Havertz is a big part of that.
Additionally — and I know we all still have the German’s misses on Sunday replaying in our minds — Havertz has basically averaged a goal contribution every 100 minutes when he’s played. Currently, he sports five goals and three assists. And they’ve almost all been very important contributions — Havertz scored and assisted the opening two goals against Kairat Almaty, slotted home a crucial stoppage-time penalty at Leverkusen to keep the tie level heading back to the Emirates, assisted an equalizer at Southampton, scored the winner against Sporting, and blocked Gianluigi Donnarumma’s clearance into City’s net to level things up at the Etihad.
I have a good feeling we’re out of the woods when it comes to Havertz’s injury issues. And if that is indeed the case, we’re looking at a player who makes Arsenal’s attack tick and still has a lot to offer.
🟠Viktor Gyökeres
I know, an orange circle feels crazy for Arsenal’s top goalscorer by a country mile. And I will quickly give him his flowers; he has been very useful at times this season and helped keep Arsenal afloat while Havertz was unavailable. 18 goals in all competitions is nothing to scoff at, and I’m hoping he can chip in a few more by the season’s end.
However, you would have to be quite a forgiving football fan at this point to want to let Gyökeres off the hook for what is a painful lack of technical quality. It has proven to be a massive issue for Arsenal as the season has progressed. The Swede simply cannot hold onto the ball under pressure or win his aerial duels, effectively meaning that the Gunners are for the most part playing with ten men in possession. What this has meant is that the onus has been placed on Arsenal’s defensive players to play through teams whenever Gyökeres is on the pitch, and without a striker who can justify balls over the top, they’ve been easier to press and force into costly errors.
Additionally, Gyökeres rarely seems capable of overpowering or outsmarting a typical Premier League defender. While Havertz is occasionally chastised for missing chances, Gyökeres struggles to get himself into position to even have chances. The former Sporting man now has played 18 Premier League games without registering a shot on target, and 11 without managing a shot at all. Long term, even with his goalscoring prowess, he is best used as a late-game option for chasing when behind or picking teams off on the counter when defending a lead. But I think Arsenal can and should do better at the position.
🟠Gabriel Jesus
The Brazilian’s time at Arsenal is coming to an end. Arteta seems to recognize that and has been winding down the forward’s involvement. Outside of the FA Cup, Jesus has played 126 minutes since the start of February.
It’s pretty clear why. While he can still pitch in here and there against lower opposition, Jesus no longer has the juice to really impact proceedings at the highest level of the sport anymore. Even taking into account his ability to play across the front line, I think every other forward on Arsenal’s books just has more to offer.
🟢Max Dowman
We probably won’t see much of him for the rest of the season, but I just want to emphasize how excited I am to watch Dowman develop as a player. We’ve already seen the spurts of tremendous quality. I still watch his goal against Everton when I need a pick-me-up. And I don’t think Arteta is the kind of guy who compares a 16-year-old to Lionel Messi lightly. He’s going to be a star.
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