A Season Defined by Fine Margins

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal entered the 2025/26 campaign carrying the weight of near-misses that had become almost a personality trait. Three top-two finishes without a title. A fanbase oscillating between belief and quiet dread. But this season felt different from the jump — and not just because the squad had depth it never had before.

With 31 Premier League games played heading into April, Arsenal sit second on 71 points, two behind Liverpool with seven games remaining. It's tight. It's always tight. But the manner in which this Arsenal side has ground out results — five wins from losing positions, a club-record 14 clean sheets before Christmas — suggests a team that has finally learned how to suffer and still come out the other side.

The Engine Room: How Arsenal's Midfield Grew Up

The biggest tactical shift this season has been Arteta's decision to deploy Martin Ødegaard in a deeper, more controlling role alongside Thomas Partey, who has — finally, mercifully — stayed fit for the bulk of the campaign. Partey has started 26 league games, his highest tally in four years at the club, and the difference is stark.

Declan Rice has been the standout midfielder in the division. His numbers are absurd for a defensive midfielder: 8 goals, 11 assists, 4.3 progressive carries per 90, and a press success rate of 34% — second only to Rodri in the last three seasons of that metric. He's evolved from a water-carrier into something closer to a complete midfielder, and Arteta has given him the license to arrive late into the box in a way that's genuinely changed Arsenal's attacking profile.

"Declan is playing the best football of his career. He understands the game at a level that very few players do." — Mikel Arteta, February 2026

Ødegaard's deeper role has freed Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka to operate with more space in the half-channels. It's a subtle shift, but it's added a layer of unpredictability that opponents have struggled to account for. When you can't press Ødegaard high because he's sitting between the lines, your entire defensive structure has to adjust.

Saka, Havertz, and the Goals That Matter

Bukayo Saka has 17 goals and 13 assists in all competitions. At 23, he's playing with a maturity that makes those numbers feel almost understated. He's been Arsenal's most fouled player, their most creative outlet, and — in the big moments — their most reliable finisher. His hat-trick against Manchester City in November, a 3-1 win at the Etihad that shifted the title conversation, was the kind of performance that gets talked about for years.

Kai Havertz has been the quiet revelation. After a difficult debut season, his second full campaign under Arteta has seen him settle into the false nine role with real conviction. He's scored 19 goals across all competitions, including crucial Champions League strikes against Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich. His hold-up play has improved dramatically, and his ability to drop deep and link play has given Arsenal a different dimension in the final third.

  • Bukayo Saka: 17 PL goals, 13 assists, 89 key passes
  • Kai Havertz: 14 PL goals, 7 assists, 68% aerial duel success
  • Declan Rice: 8 PL goals, 11 assists, 147 ball recoveries
  • Gabriel Martinelli: 11 PL goals, 9 assists after returning from injury

Gabriel Martinelli's return from a hamstring injury in January has been the injection of pace and directness Arsenal needed for the run-in. He missed 14 league games, and the difference in Arsenal's counter-attacking threat with and without him is measurable — they averaged 1.6 goals per game without him, 2.3 with him in the XI.

The Defence: Raya, Gabriel, and a Backline That Means Business

David Raya has been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season. That's not a hot take anymore — it's just what the numbers say. His 11 Premier League clean sheets, 78% save percentage, and 2.3 prevented goals above expected put him ahead of Alisson and Ederson in every meaningful metric. His distribution has been a genuine attacking weapon, with 34 accurate long balls directly leading to goal-scoring opportunities.

The Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba partnership has now been together long enough to feel genuinely elite. Saliba, 24, is the best ball-playing centre-back in England. His ability to carry the ball out from the back and trigger Arsenal's press has been central to how Arteta wants to play. Gabriel, meanwhile, has added goals to his defensive excellence — six in all competitions, including a header against PSG in the Champions League quarter-final first leg that the Emirates is still talking about.

Ben White's return to right-back after a brief experiment with him at centre-back has stabilised the right side considerably. His defensive numbers — 3.1 tackles per 90, 87% duel success — are among the best in the league at his position.

Europe and What It Could Mean

Arsenal are in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009. Let that sit for a second. They face Real Madrid over two legs in late April and early May, and while Madrid are heavy favourites, this Arsenal side has already beaten Bayern Munich 2-0 on aggregate and knocked out Atletico Madrid on penalties after a brutal two-legged tie.

The concern is fixture congestion. Arsenal play nine games in April and May across the Premier League and Champions League. Arteta's squad depth — strengthened by the January addition of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, who has slotted in seamlessly as a rotational midfielder — will be tested in a way it never has been before.

"We don't think about the schedule. We think about the next game. That's the only way to do it." — Mikel Arteta, March 2026

The title race is genuinely open. Liverpool have a slightly easier run-in on paper, but they've dropped points in three of their last six. Arsenal's remaining fixtures include Manchester United at home, Tottenham away, and Chelsea at the Emirates on the final day. None of those are gimmes, but none of them are unwinnable either.

The Verdict So Far

This is the best Arsenal squad in twenty years. That's not sentiment — it's just true. The depth, the tactical sophistication, the individual quality across every line of the pitch. Arteta has built something that can compete on multiple fronts without falling apart, which is something his previous squads simply couldn't do.

Whether it ends with a Premier League title, a Champions League run to the final, or both — or neither — the 2025/26 season has already proven that Arsenal are no longer nearly men. They're genuine contenders, and the rest of the football world has had to adjust to that reality.

Seven games left in the league. Two legs against Real Madrid. The next six weeks will define whether this is the season Arsenal fans have been waiting for since 2004, or another chapter in a story that keeps ending one page too soon. Either way, it's been one hell of a ride to watch.