Arsenal were in complete disarray when Mikel Arteta first arrived at the Emirates Stadium. Unai Emery has reduced this great club to an almost unrecognizable club.
He joined a team that had Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi at the back and Calum Chambers at full-back. David Luiz was also included in the squad.
Well, seven years later, the team is now noticeably different. Yes, Arteta still has issues to resolve, but there’s a reason why their squad is hailed as the best in the country.
No Gabriel or William Saliba? Don’t worry. Let’s call Cristian Mosquera instead. No Julian Timber? Ben White is there. No Martin Zvimendi? Well, as it happens, Miles Lewis-Skelly is quite handy in that central role.
However, while Emery has struggled, the attack has actually not developed much since his departure. Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have different standards, but both play important roles.
Fortunately, Arsenal’s attack was back on track on Saturday, with Saka at the heart of it, having been handed his first-team debut by Emery.
How did Arsenal’s frontline regain its form?
Saka has played an enormous amount of football since being handed his debut by Emery. Only four players in Premier League history have played more games in England’s top flight before the age of 23.
Most PL games played before turning 23 years old | |
|---|---|
player | games played |
1) Wayne Rooney | 201 |
2) Cesc Fabregas | 187 |
3) James Milner | 187 |
4) Bukayo Saka | 173 |
5) Gareth Barry | 173 |
6) Raheem Sterling | 172 |
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that injuries are starting to catch up with the winger. He has spent much of last year battling fitness, which has affected his form.
In fact, before Saturday’s goal, he had scored just two goals since December. This was not the Saka that Arsenal fans love.
However, he regained his form and so did Arsenal on Saturday, beating Fulham 3-0. With the No. 7 back in the squad, it was perhaps unsurprising that he produced one of the club’s best attacking performances in recent weeks.
The weekend win marked the first time in nine games since the last time they scored two or more goals in a game. Arsenal’s form has been terrible considering their lofty standards, but momentum has returned as the Gunners look to win the Premier League title.
Saka assisted Viktor Gokeres’ excellent play to score the first goal, and the pair then went on to score the second goal. This time Gokeres was the supply line, directing play to Arsenal’s winger and driving the ball past Bernd Leno.
This was Saka’s best performance of the season. It was also the Swede’s best performance since joining from Sporting last summer.
Combine this with Leandro Trossard’s impressive performance and everything looks to be coming together again. The Belgian provided Gokeres’ second and third assist, completing all six of his dribbles, the most ever in a single Premier League game.
However, the form of that trio is certainly bad news for some on the team.
Arsenal’s new signing Zinchenko should not start again after game against Fulham
Last summer, Arsenal made the decision to loan Oleksandr Zinchenko to Nottingham Forest. However, the contract was cut short over the winter after struggling for a few regular minutes during Tricky Trees’ difficult old campaign.
The Gunners canceled his contract and he was allowed to join Ajax on a free transfer.
The full-back has had an eventful time at the Emirates. He was signed from Manchester City and was a surprise when he first arrived. He completely transformed the way Arsenal played. His technical safety in possession was second to none in the team, and he was also very productive in the build-up by switching from left-back into the midfield area.
However, as this club progressed and developed, it did not take long for the Ukrainian to be abandoned. He was questionable defensively, unable to stay healthy and was eventually released in favor of Riccardo Calafioli and Lewis Skelly.
You could say the same thing is happening to Gabriel Jesus right now. Signed for £45m, he joined from Manchester City at the same time as Zinchenko. Like Zinchenko, he has revolutionized this Arsenal team.
He looked like a missing piece of a puzzle. Arsenal had a dangerous winger but needed a dynamic forward. Jesus looked like that.
In his first nine league games, the Brazilian scored five goals and provided three assists. He was full of talent and trickery and knew where the net was.
But just like with Zinchenko, declining performance and injuries are now catching up with him. He missed most of 2025 with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and although he made a spectacular comeback, scoring twice against Inter Milan at San Siro, his performances have been poor.
Jesus hasn’t scored in his last nine games. He last found the back of the net in mid-February in the FA Cup against Wigan Athletic.
Since then, the club’s number nine has only started two more games in the FA Cup. This eloquently proves that Brazilian players are not trusted to start in off-season games.
His performance off the bench against Fulham on Saturday showed exactly why he is not in the starting XI.
Jesus was brought on for Gokeres in the 64th minute and really struggled. He completed just one pass but was caught offside twice. He didn’t make a shot and had just six touches.
The match may have already been won, but it was amazing how big the difference in quality was between him and Gokeres. Like Zinchenko, it was time for Arteta to leave him alone for good in the summer.
Arsenal have already agreed a deal with new signing Bukayo Saka.
Bukayo Saka returned to form in Arsenal colors last Saturday.
