Let’s not jinx anything, but it would appear that Arsenal’s two decade long title drought is finally coming to an end. Yes, there’s still plenty of games left to be played, but the Gunners have been playing, a hard to watch but a winning type of football all season long. Whether the title is well deserved, or due for the Gunners, let’s someone else decide that. What we’re going to talk about today is what helped Arsenal and Mikel Arteta to get in a position to fight for the title.
Of course, the answer is their dealings in the transfer market. Arsenal have been one of the top spenders in the league, and they have been building this team from ground up for several years now. In a game where patience as a virtue is slowly disappearing, Arteta was given both enough funds and time to build a winning squad. It was not an easy task, there were hits and misses, and what’s most important, as we said not to jinx it, they still haven’t won the Premier League title.
While the most recent transfer reports are already talking about who is Arsenal going to sell in the summer, and who should they bring in, in order to remain relevant both in the PL title hunt and in the Champions League, we are going to talk about the players that changed the club’s fortunes and were brought in during the summer. Before we move to them, let’s talk a bit about how Arteta built this Arsenal side.
As a coach dedicated to every detail of the game, and especially on the team being defensively solid, Arteta built his team from the back to the top. One could say, and rival fans say it all the time, that when the title is at The Emirates, it was bought rather than won. Yet, we all know how the game is today, and that all the top teams spend millions every year in order to compete for trophies.
That’s why Arsenal didn’t spare any coin in order to make the team competitive. David Raya was brought from Brentford, and together with William Saliba who came from AS Saint-Etienne and Gabriel from LOSC Lille he is the foundation of Arsenal’s defense. The rest of the defensive core often rotates, but we need to say that without Brighton’s Ben White, Jurrien Timber from Ajax, and Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna Arsenal wouldn’t be the defensive powerhouse it is today, and one of the best teams in the world in dead ball situations.
Their midfield is no less impressive with the likes of Declan Rice coming from West Ham, Martin Ødegaard moving to London from Real Madrid C.F., and Kai Havertz changing colours from Chelsea Blue to the Gunners red. They also have Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City on the books, and Gabriel Martinelli who came to London from Ituano FC. Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard came from Real Sociedad and Brighton respectively. The only player who came through the ranks in London is Bukayo Saka, who is also one of the team’s best performers.
All of these players came at Mikel Arteta’s request and majority of them weren’t at the club when Arteta was appointed back in 2019. After six years at the club, Arteta has finally done enough to keep his team at the top of the table long after the Christmas break. Yet, the work was not done after the end of 2024/25 season, and last summer saw Arsenal spending big money in order to make the team even more competitive. The players we haven’t mentioned yet, and are making an impact on the Gunners season to date, were all brought in the summer of 2025, and we’re going to talk about their performances for the team below.
Martin Zubimendi
If you’ve been following Arsenal this season, and listening to what Mikel Arteta had to say, Martin Zubimendi has been the team’s best player this year. The £60m midfield man who came from Real Sociedad, fitted perfectly in Arsenal’s midfield. Leaving his boyhood club and making the transition from La Liga to the Premier League is not an easy task, but one that Martin has executed with perfection. That’s the type of player he is, a perfectionist. You will not find him misplacing passes, or missing sitters. He’s been the top creator in this Arsenal side, but also has contributed with more than a few important goals for his new side. Zubimendi played in 30 PL matches this year, scoring five times and assisting one goal. He also made four appearances over two cups that Arsenal played, scoring one goal in Arsenal’s route to the final of the EFL Cup. As far as Champions League goes, he played in six games assisting one goal. While his assists numbers are not as high as one would have expected from a deep lying playmaker, his strengths lie in dictating the tempo of the game, making late runs forward, and disrupting the opposition’s flow. He is also in charge of putting his teammates in good position all over the field, and his influence on Arsenal’s game is immeasurable after only a couple of months in London.
Viktor Gyokeres
The Swedish striker was brought in to put an end to Arsenal’s goal scoring woes that have been around since the start of Mikel Arteta’s tenure. So far, he has been achieving that goal with more or less success. The issue with Gyokeres is the fee that Arsenal paid for him and that’s a sum of £54.8m. That put a lot of pressure on him, but it would appear that Victor is finally getting his game to the levels we were used to seeing from him during his Sporting stint. So far, Victor has appeared in 28 games in the PL, scoring 10 goals. Not impressive numbers by any means, but still enough to make him the best goal scorer on the team. He also added a goal and an assist in four cup games, and 4 goals and 2 assists in 6 CL appearances which is the competition in which he was the most impressive for his new side. With plenty of more games to go, injuries behind him, and a form on the rise, Viktor Gyokeres just might deliver what fans expected of him at the start of the season, goals and trophies.
Eberechi Eze
This is not something you expect to hear when you bring in a player from Crystal Palace over, but Eberechi Eze came to Arsenal knowing how it feels and what it takes to win a trophy. The FA Cup winner came to Arsenal as a well established PL performer and he continued to play in the same vein. Yes, Eze still hasn’t gotten up to his Palace numbers, but this is only his first season at the club. We could say he fitted faster and better than Gyokeres and not quite as good as Zubimendi. So far, Eze has 24 appearances, 6 goals and 2 assists in the league. He added 2 assists and a goal in six cup matches, while his CL exploits stand at seven games and 2 assists. We all know that a £60million signing needs to do better, but Arsenal is a team that plays a rigid type of football and that doesn’t suit Eze all that well. The moment they manage to finally win the Premier League we are sure that they will add some more creativity and that approach will suit Eze’s playing style.
Noni Madueke
As we said, Arsenal didn’t spare any money during the summer looking to make both their first team and the bench better. Also, they did a lot of their shopping in the neighbourhood. Noni Madueke was bought from Chelsea in a transfer worth £48.5 million. One could argue that we’re talking about a lot of money for a rotational piece, but knowing that Noni is a home grown player, and bought from a rival, and with a lot of potential at that, it does make sense. So far, he has been hot and cold failing to cement a first team place, or to hit the right form. Scoring two goals and adding an assist in 19 appearances is not impressive, but Noni has that presence on the field that can change the game through pace and energy and that doesn’t show on the stat sheet. His best games came in the FA Cup where he has a goal and two assists in two appearances. Also, he added 3 goals in 4 appearances in the Champions League showing that his contribution as a rotational piece should not be neglected.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
An ideal reinforcement to serve as a backup keeper if anything were to happen to David Raya. Luckily, the first choice keeper for Arsenal was healthy and in good form, so Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to make any appearance in the PL this season. His duties as Raya’s backup were to play in both the EFL Cup and in the FA Cup, where he played in seven goals combined and will be between posts in the final vs. Manchester City at Wembley. He also had one appearance in the CL. What could we say? When called upon, Kepa Arrizabalaga delivered and you can’t expect more from a backup.
Piero Hincapie
The Ecuadorian defender is on loan at Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen, with an obligation to buy for £45 million. His tenacity, good defending, and recklessness when going forward were well accepted by Arsenal’s fan base, and Hincapie is a fan favorite at the moment. He played in 20 PL games adding a goal and an assist. As far as cups go he played 2 matches in the EFL Cup, and did well for the team helping Arsenal to reach the final of that competition. Hincapie also added 4 games in the CL, showing that he is an important piece of Arteta’s rotation. Considering that his transfer was pre arranged with the loan only being on the table due to Arsenal’s finances, we will be seeing more of him in years to come in a red and white shirt.
Cristhian Mosquera
Arsenal has made plenty of signings all over the board, but they paid special attention to how they reinforce their defence considering the play style Arteta wants to deploy. Cristhian Mosquera was bought for £13 million, and is seen as a player for the future. With only 21 years of age there’s plenty of time for him to shine after he signed a 5 year contract with Arsenal. This season he already got to feel how the Premier League feels as he made 13 appearances. He also played in 3 cup duels, and added six more matches in the CL. With the season still ongoing, he will get plenty more minutes in coming weeks, and could be a part not only of Arsenal’s future but also the present successes.
Christian Norgaard
Norgaard is a player that is one of the unlikeliest Arteta signings. He doesn’t fit Arsenal’s age group, and came after years in the PL in Brentford. Yet, the idea that Arteta had was clear. A leader, and experienced player in the locker room, and a solid replacement for any of the midfield positions. It was a bargain to get a player of Norgaard’s quality for only £15m. He only made 6 appearances on the year after making 34 for Brentford last season in the PL. Christian Norgaard was good in the 5 matches he played across FA and EFL cups, and in 5 appearances he made in the CL. His presence in the locker room was worth his transfer fee, and if everything goes to plan, he will spend his late years in London, with an PL medal around his neck.
Mikel Arteta has a certain way about doing transfer business, and after years of being ridiculed by opposing fans and some members of the media, he has finally assembled a team that can win the Premier League title. Yes, it took him a couple of hundred of millions of pounds, but also some patience from his employers, and a lot of planning from himself and his staff.
