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From title boosters to question marks: How Arsenal’s new arrivals lost their shine
Arsenal’s 2025 summer rebuild arrived wrapped in expectation. After seasons of steady progress under Mikel Arteta, the club finally appeared ready to make the decisive leap from contenders to champions. Heavy investment brought marquee names to the Emirates, and the sense was clear: this was the window designed to end the long wait for a Premier League title.
Six months later, that optimism has dulled. Instead of propelling Arsenal forward, the new arrivals have struggled to leave a consistent mark at a moment when the margins at the top of the table are unforgiving.
On paper, the recruitment strategy made sense. Martin Zubimendi was signed to anchor midfield and bring composure in possession. Eberechi Eze arrived as a creative catalyst. Noni Madueke added pace and unpredictability, while Viktor Gyokeres was expected to become the long-term solution to Arsenal’s search for a dominant central striker.
Individually, each signing carried pedigree and promise. Collectively, they were supposed to elevate the squad into genuine title winners.
There were encouraging signs early in the campaign. The new faces settled quickly enough to suggest the plan might work, and Arsenal’s form initially reflected that promise. But as the season intensified, cracks began to appear. The 3-2 defeat to Manchester United on 25 January proved particularly damaging, both in terms of points dropped and what it revealed about Arsenal’s current balance.
That match was notable for who did not start. Gyokeres, Madueke and Eze were all left on the bench, underlining Arteta’s growing reluctance to rely on his most expensive summer additions in high-stakes fixtures. Zubimendi did start, but his night unravelled with a costly back-pass that gifted United an equaliser and swung momentum away from Arsenal at a critical stage.
Gyokeres’ struggles have been the most glaring. Signed to lead the line, his output has fallen short of expectations. Five league goals from 17 appearances tells its own story, particularly when most of those strikes came against teams in the bottom half. Against stronger opposition, his influence has faded, leaving Arsenal without the ruthless focal point they believed they had secured.
Madueke has shown flashes of direct running and technical ability, but consistency has eluded him. He has yet to establish himself as a reliable difference-maker when matches tighten. Eze’s situation is similar.
His hat-trick against Tottenham in November offered a glimpse of his potential impact, yet since then his productivity has dipped sharply, with no goals and just a single assists to his name in his last 11 appearances.
Zubimendi, by contrast, has generally been more reliable. His mistake against United was uncharacteristic, but it highlighted the fine margins Arsenal are currently failing to master. Even solid performances lose their value when isolated errors prove costly.
Jack Thomas/Getty Images
None of this means Arsenal’s transfer strategy was misguided. The talent is there. The issue lies in cohesion, adaptation and pressure. Integrating multiple high-profile signings into a side chasing a title is rarely seamless, and Arsenal’s demanding style requires near-perfect understanding between players.
The challenge for Arteta now is to unlock the full value of his summer investments before the season drifts beyond reach. Time remains, but patience is running thin.
What was meant to be a transformative window has instead underlined how difficult it is to turn ambition into silverware. Unless these signings begin to shape decisive moments, Arsenal’s title dream risks becoming another story of promise unfulfilled.
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