Arteta must offload Arsenal star who has made just 11 passes

Mikel Arteta’s side may be chasing a quadruple title, but Arsenal’s performances in their last two games have been far from vintage.

Last Saturday’s game against Mansfield Town was a less spectacular 2-1 away win, but they produced an equally strong performance against Bayer Leverkusen under the bright lights of Germany.

Indeed, when the club’s Champions League knock-out campaign began, the Londoners drew 1-1 with their Bundesliga opponents and were forced to work incredibly hard to bring a result back to the Emirates Stadium in the second leg the following Tuesday.

Kai Havertz returned to his old club to win a penalty in the dying seconds of the game, but it must be said that there was an element of luck in Arsenal achieving something on the road.

How Arsenal drew with Bayer Leverkusen

As Arsenal approach the business stage of the season, they would be forgiven for looking a bit tired. Well, they certainly looked that way in recent weeks, even though their squad depth has been hailed as the best in Europe.

To tell you the truth, they looked pretty mediocre against Leverkusen, as the Bundesliga’s second-best home defensive team showed exactly why they are so difficult to break down.

Arsenal were on track for most of the match without being too bothered by the German side, but their frustration ultimately boiled down to yet another frustrating night in the final third, particularly with Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal’s star boy recently signed a new blockbuster contract worth £300,000 a week, but his performances definitely do not justify such a high salary.

So far in 2026, the winger has scored just two goals in 14 games. In fact, looking back at the second half of 2025, there were 21 games in which he scored just two goals.

He has been well below standard in recent months and his performance at Leverkusen was probably the lowest point of the season so far. Saka was sent off after less than an hour of playing time and left the pitch without making any significant passes or shots on target. All three of his crosses were also inaccurate.

As a result, it was no wonder that other front lines were struggling. Havertz scored a penalty towards the end of the game and found the back of the net. Coincidentally, it was Noni Madueke who took the spot kick instead of Saka.

But before that, Leverkusen had defeated Arsenal in their own game, with Robert Andrich scoring a header from a corner kick just after the break.

So, generally speaking, it was a pretty miserable night for many of the Kohaku cast members. However, Saka was not Arsenal’s biggest underperformance.

Arsenal’s worst player against Leverkusen

Club captain Saka’s performance on the night was perhaps one of the club’s worst since his breakthrough as a plucky teenager.

But he and his teammates could do little to help striker Victor Goqueres, who continues to be a polarizing presence at the top end of the pitch for Arteta’s side.

The Swede has struggled for consistency since joining from Sporting last summer, but in 2026 he is arguably one of Arsenal’s best players. After scoring twice against Spurs a few weeks ago, the centre-forward has now scored eight goals in 12 games this year.

Sadly, since his impressive performance in north London, Gökeres has returned to print. His performance in the 1-0 win against Brighton was perhaps his worst, giving the ball away 13 times despite having just 20 touches. He couldn’t hold the ball at all.

Well, it was a similar performance this time around when the big bucks arrived. He played 74 minutes before being replaced by Havertz, but the substitution should have happened sooner.

Saka enjoyed some lively moments on the right flank, but Gokeres cut out an unknown who was unable to keep possession. In other words, once Arsenal had the ball in front of them, they were unable to relieve the pressure.

The big-money striker took just 21 touches on Wednesday night, 11 fewer than goalkeeper David Raya, while also completing just 69% of his passes and giving the ball away six times.

To make matters worse, he didn’t even get a single shot on goal. This sadly tells the disappointing story of his Arsenal career so far. For too many games he didn’t look the slightest threat.

Although Havertz’s involvement was limited to goals, it was a much more positive influence and at this crucial stage of the season the Germans only need to redo both Gokeres and Jesus. But they will need to keep him healthy. They have failed to win for most of the past year, but Arteta needs him in the squad if they are to have any hope of winning the competition.