Mikel Arteta's side won three of their five matches this summer as they prepare for another season hunting down England and Europe's best
Arsenal are heading into the 2025-26 season full of hope and optimism that they will finally end their trophy drought. Despite taking huge strides in the Mikel Arteta era, the men's team's last piece of silverware came back in the summer of 2020, when they won the FA Cup during the coronavirus lockdown – that remains the only major honour claimed since Arsene Wenger left in 2018.
Their preparations for the new campaign haven't been perfect, but there is evident progress nonetheless. After beating AC Milan and Newcastle in Singapore, the mood was dampened a tad by a defeat to Tottenham in Hong Kong during the first north London derby on foreign soil. Arteta's charges returned to England for two last friendlies at the Emirates Stadium, and when they were beaten by Villarreal, fan sentiment began to wobble. However, a convincing, and at times scintillating, demolition of Athletic Club on Saturday lifted spirits again, particularly with marquee signing Viktor Gyokeres scoring his first goal since arriving from Sporting CP.
The Gunners' time for warm-ups and kick-abouts is over, with a tricky start to the new term rapidly peering over the horizon. Are they ready? Can they start fast and right the wrongs of last year?
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WINNER: Max Dowman
Yes, you heard it correctly. Max Dowman is only 15 years old, and doesn't even turn 16 until New Year's Eve, yet he has not looked one iota out of place in the Arsenal first-team setup this pre-season. If you'd asked someone who didn't know to guess Dowman's age based on these summer performances, they'd have said a man in his early twenties with plenty of top-flight experience under his belt, rather than a literal child who still has GCSEs to complete.
The Gunners' esteemed Hale End academy have done it again, producing another top teenage talent ready to get some minutes in the adult game. Throughout pre-season, Arteta has afforded Dowman a real chance to impress and an opportunity to make the leap from youth football. He's been thrown in at the deep end and is treading water swimmingly.
In the friendlies against Newcastle and Villarreal, Dowman came off the bench to bamboozle the opposition defence and win penalties. He was seldom afraid to put crosses into the box or pull the trigger with shots of his own. Some rookies may have wilted in the spotlight and chose to play more safely, but Dowman has instead opted to take games by the scruff of the neck.
After his cameo against Villarreal, Arteta said of Dowman: "He continues to impress, without a doubt. The impact he had in the game again today, the efficiency that he shows in every attack and action, it's incredible. Again, he deserves to have chances, and if he continues like this, let's see what happens."
It is practically unheard of for any club at any level, let alone one with the prestige and ambitions of Arsenal, to blood a 15-year-old into the senior side, so what's Arteta's plan for the months ahead? "Let's see how it goes… He needs a little break because he hasn't had any holidays really. So, in the next few days, he's going to have a break, which I think he needs. And then, following the week, he'll be ready again to go."
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LOSER: Gabriel Martinelli & Leandro Trossard
Arsenal's left wing spot remains up for grabs, and no one has made a convincing enough play to nail it down for themselves. The club are still being linked with moves for the likes of Eberechi Eze, Rodrygo and Ademola Lookman, suggesting Arteta is still looking for an external solution to this problem.
Their current options have stagnated one way or another. Gabriel Martinelli, who only turned 24 in June, has not kicked on as has long been expected of him, remaining a frustrating presence when on the pitch. Meanwhile, 30-year-old Leandro Trossard missed most of Arsenal's friendlies through injury and could start the season with a considerable amount of rust to shake off.
The arrival of Noni Madueke means that even if the Gunners don't make another major signing in attack, Arteta still has another new option to try out. Madueke ended the 2024-25 season starting off the left for Chelsea as opposed to his preferred right, and though this didn't yield a goal, he still made the Blues a more direct threat on that flank, particularly in transition.
Madueke has also impressed Arteta with his early commitment to the cause, returning early from his post-Club World Cup holiday to link up with his new team-mates. Speaking after Saturday's match with Athletic Club, the Spaniard said: "I think the reception [Madueke] got every time he was on the ball the other day as well, super positive, I think that lifts any player, brings energy. You can tell the quality that he's got every time he's on the ball, in and around the box on one-v-one, the ball lands obviously to a player in our colour inside the box and that's a massive quality to have. He can play left and right, he doesn't care, so he's a big weapon for us."
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WINNER: New-look midfield
Speaking of directness, there appears to be an emphasis on Arsenal progressing the ball up the pitch with more purpose than over the last 12 months. Bringing in Martin Zubimendi, an accomplished deep-lying playmaker who can pass vertically as well as sideways, will certainly help with that tactical adjustment. Together with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, he could form part of the Premier League's best, if not most well-rounded, midfield trio.
"With the qualities that they have and the way they can complement each other in that space, we saw another evolution today on that and things that the team can really benefit from to be much more unpredictable and be a much more threat, especially from these inside positions," Arteta said on Saturday of the threesome.
Zubimendi, on his part, has also praised his team-mates for helping him settle so seamlessly: "It was very easy – the team made it very easy for me. I think the rest of the team have integrated very well, I think the people on and off the pitch are very friendly. [Rice and Odegaard] are top players, the best in their position. It's time to learn, adapt and enjoy it above all."
It's this sort of differential, along with not enduring an injury crisis spanning the whole campaign, that Arsenal will need if they're to overthrow Liverpool and become the kings of England themselves, not just what happens in both boxes.
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LOSER: Jakub Kiwior
When Gabriel Magalhaes' 2024-25 ended in early April due to a hamstring injury, many Arsenal fans were worried about the credentials of Jakub Kiwior to take his place. However, the Poland international produced a number of fine showings, including in both legs of their Champions League quarter-final triumph against Real Madrid, to finally endear himself to supporters.
Gabriel picked up another injury towards the start of pre-season to allow Kiwior further minutes alongside William Saliba in the heart of defence this summer, though he has regularly been caught napping at the back and his levels have dropped. He notably caught the ire of David Raya after reacting slowly to the first two goals they conceded at home to Villarreal last Wednesday.
Riccardo Calafiori is most likely going to compete with Myles Lewis-Skelly for the left-back spot, but he may also fill in at centre-back on that side too. With Kiwior still linked with an exit, Arsenal may be contemplating selling while his stock to the rest of Europe is still relatively high and his time in north London may be drawing to a close.