LoCo Gunners Blog: Fit to Be Tied
Neal Thurman • September 24, 2025
It was a big week across the board at Arsenal FC. The men played their first Champions League match of the 2025-26 campaign, followed by a glamour match-up with Manchester City, while the women learned their opponents for the first stage of their Champions League title defense, followed by a glamour match-up of their own against a strong Manchester United team.
Arsenal Men v Bilbao Athletic
Once again, the men’s team showcased the value of their summer signings as they successfully navigated a trip to Bilbao. Athletic were incredibly aggressive from the first kick and I worried that this was going to be a frustrating 0-0 draw or 1-0 loss against a less-talented but resolute and well-organized opposition.
That was until Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli were introduced late. Inside of a minute of Martinelli coming on, fellow substitute Trossard released him on a break that saw the Brazilian in alone to beat the goalkeeper with a fine finish. Not long after, their roles were reversed with Martinelli driving to the touchline and drawing the ball back for Trossard to score for a 2-0 finish that looked like a more comfortable result than it actually was.
While two long-standing players figured in the scoring, the new-found quality of depth proved its worth. With William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, and Bukayo Saka all still missing, Mikel Arteta was able to field an excellent starting line-up featuring Cristhian Mosquera, Eberechi Eze, and Mikel Merino in place of Saliba, Saka, and Odegaard respectively and STILL have quality like Martinelli, Trossard, and Nwaneri available as substitutes.
In addition to veterans Martinelli and Trossard, new arrivals like Madueke and Eze make for a lot of options when injury or rotation keeps key players out. The theme continued when league play resumed on Sunday against Manchester City.
On to Manchester City
Sunday brought the good news that William Saliba was healthy enough to start, with Saka and Odegaard available from the bench. While still not at full strength, it’s great news that the team is on a path to all three starting.
The bad news was that the match started off poorly for the Gunners. Despite Arteta’s conservative approach, deploying a midfield trio of Zubimendi, Rice, and Merino, Manchester City broke through early through Norwegian goal-machine Erling Haaland. That Haaland scored is hardly surprising, but it was frustrating that City was able to go straight down the middle past three Arsenal midfielders. If we’re going to be vulnerable to that sort of attack, we might as well do it with players like Eze and Nwaneri in the line-up to break through the lines in the other direction.
Other than the goal, Sunday’s match wasn’t easy on the eyes. Without creative forces like Eze, Odegaard, and Nwaneri in the middle of the park, it was largely left to Noni Madueke to create chances from the right side of the attack. Against lesser opponents, that might be enough, but Pep ensured that Madueke was contained by multiple defenders and took his chances that Arsenal’s central midfield couldn’t break down the rest of the City defense.
City held their slim 1-0 lead into stoppage time. Then Arsenal’s quality in depth rose up again with Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli combining for a spectacular stoppage time equalizer.
A draw against a high-quality opponent is hardly a tragedy, but there is certainly some concern with Arteta’s approach to both the Liverpool match and the City match, where he has been more conservative rather than taking his newly-acquired attackers out for a spin and try to win from the start.
The View from the Other Side of Manchester
Just before the men kicked off against City at the Emirates, the women’s side were in Manchester facing Manchester United’s table-topping women’s side. Coming into the match, both teams were undefeated after two matches, with United leading the table on goal differential.
Like the blockbuster men’s match in London, the actual match failed to live up to the hype. While there was no shortage of effort, the post-match statistics show only four shots on target combined for both teams and none of them stood out as particularly dangerous.
Getting a draw on the road against a title contender isn’t a bad outcome, but for a team with title aspirations, it didn’t feel like quite enough. Keeping pace with a dominant Chelsea club is going to be incredibly difficult. Dropped points, even on the road against Manchester United, cannot happen.
Previewing the Women’s European Journey
Before heading to Manchester to face the Red Devils, the women learned who they would be facing in the first stage of the 2025-26 Champions League as they look to defend their title. Repeating won’t be an easy road though. Here’s a quick look:
OL Lyonnes - the most storied club in the women’s game, now owned by Michelle Kang as the crown jewel of her women’s football empire. Not an easy way to start off a title defense.
Bayern Munich - while not as dominating as the Bayern men’s side, they made it to the Champions League quarterfinals and dominated Germany to win the domestic treble. The schedule-makers are doing Arsenal no favors here.
Real Madrid - Again, not quite up to the otherworldly standards of their male counterparts but, like Bayern, they advanced to the Champions League quarterfinalists last term, while contenting themselves as runners up to Barcelona domestically.
Benfica - dominant at home in Portugal, but not really a force in Europe at this time.
Twente - after going out in the group stages last season, the reigning Dutch champions shouldn’t be a significant hurdle.
OH Leuven - making their first Champions League appearance, the newly-minted Belgian champions and are probably in the “happy to be here” club, rather than presenting a real threat.
Where Things Stand
Arsenal Men: Liverpool are chugging along, winning 5 of 5. After five weeks in the Premier League, the Arsenal men sit five points behind Liverpool, tied on points with Tottenham and Bournemouth, but ahead of those two on goal differential. While slightly disappointing, given that they have already played Liverpool on the road and Manchester City at home, that’s not a bad place with Chelsea and City both struggling.
Arsenal Women: After three weeks, the women are third in the table. Like Liverpool on the men’s side, the Chelsea women just keep churning out unimpressive wins, but style points aren’t awarded in the table. Manchester United remain tied with Arsenal on points and a goal ahead in differential, and Manchester City sit a point behind in 4th.
What’s Next
Arsenal Men: The men play their first Carabao Cup match of the season on Wednesday against Port Vale, followed by the always tough trip to St. James Park on Sunday at 11:30 AM to face Newcastle United.
Arsenal Women: It’s an early 7 AM start for Americans watching them face off with Aston Villa this coming Saturday at the Emirates Stadium.
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Chilly temps and rain in North London didn’t put a damper on the Arsenal Men and Women, as both romped to decisive victories. Neither opponent was especially daunting, but the class that each side showed in seeing off credible opposition is exactly what should be expected of teams who compete for championships. Friday Night Lights The Arsenal women kicked off the weekend Friday night at the home of the West Ham women’s side, Chigwell Construction Stadium. The trip across London meant that attendance dropped from the 38,000+ that saw the season opener at the Emirates to just north of 3,000 ( Pro Tip: If you’re considering going to see the Arsenal Women this season, you might want to catch a road match.) Once the match got underway, the script seemed almost identical to what we saw from the Gunners in last weekend’s season opener against London City, with a rough start as Gunners goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar misplayed a high cross that she would handle easily 99 times out of 100. As in their opener, however, there was no panic about being down a goal. The Gunners held the bulk of the possession and the breakthrough came in the 21st minute from Frida Maanum from a Beth Mead assist. Both Mead with her pass and Maanum with her shot nutmegged their defenders to produce the first goal. Arsenal kept the pressure up through the rest of the first half, but couldn’t get the go-ahead goal before the break. As with London City, the introduction of Stina Blackstenius changed the match. The Sweden international came on at halftime, and the goals started flowing.Although Blackstenius scored first in the second stanza, the plaudits for the goal should go to Alessia Russo, whose one touch backheel made Blackstenius’ job routine for a striker of her quality. From 2-1, the rout was on. A goal from Caitlin Foord in the 62nd, and a stoppage time brace from Russo delivered the final 5-1 scoreline. To see more, check out an extended highlights package (requires free sign-up) from the match. The early-match jitters against modest opponents that Arsenal have shown in both matches so far are the only quibble that anyone might have after two dominant matches. They will have to get things sorted out this week, though, when they face current table toppers Manchester United on their home ground. New Arrivals Shine Where the women’s successful weekend was driven by returning stars, the men’s victory over visiting Nottingham Forest was notable for the contributions of new arrivals. With Bukayo Saka and William Saliba still injured, Mikel Arteta started five summer signings–Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, and Viktor Gyorkeres. Each was excellent. The most obvious star of the match was Zubimendi, who opened the scoring with a screaming goal from long distance. After an attempted Forest clearance from a corner, the ball fell to Zubimendi and he struck true. A slight touch from a defender on the way through provided just enough change of direction to ensure that goalkeeper Matt Sels didn’t have a chance to get a hand on it. While the Gunners were dominant in the first half, going into the break up only a goal certainly wasn’t the most comfortable feeling. Fortunately, in less than a minute Eberechi Eze combined with Viktor Gyokeres to double the lead.(The play started with early-season star Ricardo Calafiori who played a long ball for Eze who crossed it immediately into the path of Gyokeres for an easy finish.) Zubimendi once again closed the scoring in the 79th minute with an unlikely strike from the diminutive holding midfielder–a headed goal. The build-up came from a set piece on the right side of the attack. Declan Rice worked the ball across the pitch to substitute Leandro Trossard, who clipped the ball into the box where Zubimendi rose to head it home for the final 3-0 scoreline. For video highlights of the match, click here (requires free sign-up). While three of the five new arrivals who started - Zubimendi, Eze, and Gyokeres - figured prominently in the scoring, the other two - Mosquera and Madueke - showed even better. Madueke, the subject of supporter ire when he was purchased from Chelsea over the summer, was excellent for the 79 minutes he played, consistently driving at defenders and opening up potential scoring opportunities that Arsenal could have done better converting. Mosquera made his most obvious contribution when he prevented a Forest attacker from being in on goal after some less-than-impressive work clearing the ball from David Raya. Mosquera dispossessed the attacker without looking even mildly panicked, and ensured that Forest’s best opportunity came to nothing. Beyond that one play, the extent to which Mosquera, acquired more as “one for the future” rather than being targeted for a starting role, has stepped in for William Saliba and looked every bit the Frenchman’s equal. With a Tuesday Champions League opener against Athletic Club, Arsenal’s newboys will have to excel for the Gunners to get a positive result in Bilbao. The Results: WSL Week 2/PL Week 4 With both the men’s and women’s teams now playing league matches with Champions League to come soon for each, I’m going to condense the details to results, place in the table, what happened to their title rivals, and what fixtures are upcoming. Women’s Result: 5-1 win @ West Ham Men’s Result: 3-0 win vs. Nottingham Forest Women’s Place in the Table: 2nd (tied for first with 6 points, second behind Manchester United by one goal on goal difference tie breaker) Men’s Place in the Table: 2nd (3 points behind first place Liverpool) WSL Title Contender Round-up: Chelsea: The Blues won 3-1 over Aston Villa and welcomed back striker extraordinaire Sam Kerr, who scored on her return to the pitch after the better part of two years out. Manchester City: City came from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 and record their first win of the new season. Manchester United: The Red Devils, unlike their male counterparts, are in fine form, one-upping Arsenal’s result against London City from last weekend to maintain their slim lead at the top of the table on goal differential. PL Title Contender Round-up Liverpool: The Reds struggled mightily to break through against newly-promoted Burnley only, to see a Clarets player wrongly sent off late in the match. A minute before the final whistle a foolish hand ball in the box led to a Mo Salah penalty and an extremely lucky 1-0 win to maintain Liverpool’s perfect start to the season. Tottenham: Tomas Frank has wasted no time in transforming Spurs into a credible side. West Ham aren’t very good and were even worse after a 54th minute red card, but Arsenal’s North London rivals did what they have failed to do so often in recent seasons and took care of a weak opponent with a minimum of fuss. Chelsea: I debated whether to include the Blues in this space or not. They just don’t seem to be able to get the best of the talent on their squad let alone actually being more than the sum of their parts. They conceded well into stoppage time against West London rivals Brentford and had to settle for a disappointing draw. Up Next Women - 9/21 9:50 AM EDT: Arsenal travel to current leaders Manchester United for a top-of-the-table clash. Men (UCL) - 9/16 12:45 PM EDT: Arsenal travel to Bilbao in Spain to face Athletic Club and frequently-rumored transfer target Nico Williams in the Champions League opener for both sides. Men (PL) - 9/21 11:30 AM EDT: Hopefully, the women have their tie in hand and you can switch over to the men’s clash against Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday. City haven’t looked quite right yet this season but this is, without question, the match of the weekend in the Premier League.
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The Arsenal women had the Emirates and the spotlight all to themselves this weekend in about as perfect a season-opener as the club could have wished for. As the Premier League took the weekend off for the season’s first international break, the women took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase both their new and returning stars. Saturday was a glorious early Fall day in North London for the opening of Arsenal’s Women’s Super League campaign. For the occasion, the Gunners welcomed over 38,000 spectators and the newly-promoted London City Lionesses and owner Michelle Kang to the Emirates Stadium. The Arsenal women were certainly favored heading into the match, but with a hint of uncertainty due to Ms. Kang’s investment in new arrivals preparing for their debut in the top flight. Lingering concerns that London City might be a surprise package in their first season in the WSL were exacerbated when they scored a penalty in the 17th minute to go up a goal. It took a further 12 minutes, but new signing Olivia Smith announced herself to the home crowd with a wondrous debut goal from 30+ yards out to level the score. Once back on level terms, it was Arsenal’s core group of attacking stars who blew the match open. After a few opportunities went begging, Alessia Russo’s clever dribble around a lunging defender gave her space to find Chloe Kelly who slotted home the go-ahead goal just before the stroke of halftime. The second half saw a brief flurry from London City that culminated in a shot hitting the post and bouncing out, but they were unable to convert and Arsenal’s quality in depth took over down the stretch. The luxury of bringing in stars like Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord, and Frida Maanum proved too much for the WSL newbies. Mead and Blackstenius came in in the 77th minute and it only took five minutes before the two connected for Arsenal’s third. Mead, as she so often is, was the catalyst as Blackstenius scored off of her cross to put the Gunners up 3-1. Only a minute later, it was Mead again as she crossed for fellow substitute Frida Maanum, who scored the final goal and sent the crowd home happy. The two assists marked a milestone for Mead as they made her the first woman to record 50 assists in WSL play. The Result: WSL Week 1 Starting Line-up: van Domselaar, Catley, Reid, McCabe, Fox, Pelova, Caldentey, Little, Russo, Kelly, Smith Substitutes: Hinds (McCabe), Maanum (Pelova), Blackstenius (Russo), Mead (Kelly), Foord (Smith) Arsenal Result: 4-1 win vs. London City Goal(s): Kosovare Asliani, Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly, Stina Blackstenius, Frida Maanum Assist(s): Alessia Russo, Beth Mead (x2) Place in the Table: 2nd (tied for first with 3 points, second behind Manchester United by one goal on goal difference tie breaker) Title Contender Round-up: Chelsea: Last season’s champions were undefeated in the WSL and kicked off the season with a 2-1 win Friday against a Manchester City side that should finish in the top three in the WSL. A statement of intent from the Blues to open the campaign. Manchester City: See above, City lost to reigning champions Chelsea in their opener but should be in the race all season. Up Next Women - 9/12 2:30 PM: Arsenal travel south and east to face a West Ham women’s side coming off a 1-0 loss to Spurs. Men - 9/13 7:30 AM: Arsenal host former technical director Edu and his new side, Nottingham Forest at the Emirates to kickoff Match Week 4. NOTE: WSL TV Coverage A note to those who are interested in following the Arsenal Women’s WSL action on TV: In an announcement that came just before the season’s Friday kickoff, the League announced that all WSL matches will be available to US audiences on ESPN+. As of late last week, the plan seemed to be for matches to be available in the US via the FA’s FAPlayer app, but the late-breaking change should be an improvement. The Arsenal Men on International Duty As mentioned above, the men were on a break from Premier League action over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t playing with many of Mikel Arteta’s squad turning out for their countries late last week and early this week. Here’s a list of the 15 Arsenal players who were called up by their countries and then a link to a page that is tracking results : England (4): Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Myles Lewis-Skelly Spain (3): Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, David Raya Brazil (2): Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Italy (1): Ricardo Calafiori Norway (1): Martin Odegaard Sweden (1): Viktor Gyokeres Netherlands (1): Jurrien Timber Belgium (1): Leandro Trossard Ecuador (1): Piero Hincapie Two bonus mentions as Max Dowman (England U19s) and Cristian Mosquera (Spain U21s) were called up by youth teams in their respective countries. Of particular note from the matches that have been played so far have been Mikel Merino’s four goals and an assist in two matches for Spain against Turkey (3 goals) and Bulgaria (1 goal, 1 assist) and Declan Rice’s tally for England against Andorra.
A trip to Anfield has never been an easy task. Liverpool have won the top flight title more than any other club–including their triumph last term. Throw in some strong work in the transfer window and the Reds went into the top of the table clash with Arsenal looking at least as daunting a prospect as last season. How you view the eventual outcome of the match, a 1-0 Arsenal loss, probably says a lot about how you approach supporting your team. The pessimist might look at the result and suggest that Arsenal, despite all the strengthening done in the summer, are still likely no better than second best in the Premier League. That pessimist may be further inclined to think that Arsenal have something of an injury-related curse brewing after last season’s injuries to key players, and the early stages of this season have accelerated the trend with William Saliba going early with an ankle injury. Finally, the pessimist might complain that Mikel Arteta’s approach to the match was a bit too conservative, with Mikel Merino replacing Martin Odegaard, and Gabriel Martinelli playing on the left with Noni Madueke moving to the right to replace Bukayo Saka. Supporters looking for a more aggressive approach might have preferred Ethan Nwaneri for Odegaard, or Eberechi Eze instead of Martinelli/Trossard from the start. While there are certainly times to be pessimistic about your team, I have a more optimistic view of this particular match. In particular, I was impressed by Cristian Mosquera’s turn replacing Saliba, as well as the extent to which Arsenal was able to contain Liverpool’s exceptional attack with three key starters missing. As far as the flow of the match went, possession was close to even–as were the chances. And while I would have liked to see Nwaneri from the start and Dowman sooner than the 89th minute, would that have changed anything? Perhaps not, but it would have signaled intent to win rather than to draw. In the end, the difference in the match was a miraculous free kick from 30-ish feet out by Dominik Szoboszlai that would have beaten just about any goalkeeper in the world. A disappointing result for sure given how well the team played away from home, down a few key players, and facing excellent opposition. But it’s definitely not the end of the world only three weeks into the campaign. The Transfer Deadline If Sunday brought disappointment, Monday and the transfer deadline brought continued change to the club. Arsenal brought in their eighth signing of the summer window as they acquired Ecuadorian Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. The defender can play both a left-sided center back as well as left back and will replace Jakub Kiwior (who confirmed a move to Porto on Monday). Also leaving the club with Kiwior were Albert Sambi Lokonga (Hamburg), Fabio Vieira (Hamburg, loan), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Nottingham Forest, loan), and Reiss Nelson (Brentford, loan). One of the bigger criticisms of Arsenal’s transfer market dealings in recent years has been their inability to sell players for good fees in an effort to “balance the books” when they bring in expensive new players. The Kiwior and Sambi Lokongo sales both netted small profits from the prices paid a few years ago, but the failure to conclude permanent sales for Nelson, Zinchenko, and Vieira underscore the ongoing problem. Since it isn’t my money, I can’t say I’m TOO concerned about the money recouped in the transfer market so long as the club can continue to buy like they did this summer and they keep developing talent like Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Saka, and Dowman at the Hale End Academy. The Women’s Turn With the men heading to the first international break of the season, the women get next weekend to themselves for their season debut. Their opponents for the curtain-raiser will be the London City Lionesses. The only independent (not owned by a Premier League side) club in the Women’s Super League after promotion from the Championship last season, the Lionesses are owned by Michelle Kang who also owns the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and OL Lyonnes in France. While Michelle Kang has a history of success, facing the reigning European champions in the club’s first match in the top flight seems like a lot to ask. Arsenal will be close to full strength as the players who featured deep into or won the European Championships over the summer return to the pitch after late-summer vacations. All of the Euro competitors played at least 45 minutes in the pre-season-ending 2-0 win over West Ham last Wednesday. The match will be played at 8:30 AM on Saturday, September 6th and can be streamed live for free on the FA Player app found in Google Play and Apple App Store . The Result: Week 3 Starting Line-up: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Madueke, Martinelli, Gyokeres Substitutes: Mosquera (Saliba), Odegaard (for Merino), Eze (for Martinelli), Dowman (Madueke) Arsenal Result: 1-0 loss away to Liverpool Goal(s): Dominik Szoboszlai Assist(s): none Place in the Table: 3rd (3 points behind leaders Liverpool and one point behind 2nd place Chelsea) Title Contender Round-up: Liverpool: I think we covered that sufficiently above. Manchester City: For the second consecutive weekend, Manchester City looked out of sorts against seemingly so-so opposition. They dropped a 2-1 decision to Brighton and Hove Albion at the AmEx Stadium. Chelsea: Chelsea got a bit lucky having an early Fulham goal wrongly disallowed by VAR but managed to score two against their West London rivals at home to extend their winning streak to two after an opening weekend draw. Not particularly convincing but they did what they had to do against solid opposition. Up Next Women - 9/6 8:30 AM: Arsenal host the London City Lionesses including former Gunners Danielle van de Donk and Nikita Parris at the Emirates to start their season. Men - 9/13 7:30 AM: Arsenal host former technical director Edu and his new side, Nottingham Forest at the Emirates to kickoff Match Week 4.
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Women’s Preseason, A New Men’s Arrival, and Arsenal Men v Leeds
The Season Begins
Loudoun Soccer x Arsenal Camp - An Insider Look
Men's 25/26 Season Preview With the pre-season in the books and the Premier League set to kick off this weekend, it’s time to take a deep dive into what to expect from Arsenal in the upcoming season. We’ll start with a brief recap of last season before tackling summer changes, and what to look forward to in the early stages of this campaign. KICK OFF THE ARSENAL MEN’S 25/26 SEASON WITH US AT OUR MEN'S OPENER WATCH PARTY THIS SUNDAY! Join us at 11 am at Anchor Bar for lunch, drink specials, games, and prizes! (We’ll have Match Attax EPL trading cards for sale! If your pack includes an Arsenal player, celebrate with a drink of the house!) RSVP here ! 2024-25 In Review Arsenal entered the 2024-25 season expecting to once again challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title. With City’s Ballon D’or winner Rodri lost for the season due to injury, Jurgen Klopp departing Liverpool after an illustrious run as manager, and Chelsea, Spurs, and Manchester United being in various states of chaos, it was thought that Arsenal were the front-runners for the title. Most of the above turned out to be correct. City fell off in the absence of their midfield talisman.Chelsea, Spurs, and Manchester United continued to struggle to varying degrees with none mounting anything close to a title challenge. Two things didn’t go to expectations on the path to a potential Arsenal title. At Anfield, Arne Slot replaced Klopp and not only didn’t he skip a beat but he improved on the German’s final season with the Reds. Despite the change of manager and aging key players in Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah, Liverpool were consistently excellent from start to finish. The other significant hurdle faced by the Gunners were some unfortunate injuries that pointed out some areas of the squad where the club was light on depth. Ideally, a club will get 34-36 starts out of 38 Premier League matches from their key players. Of their key attacking players, Arsenal received significantly fewer than that from Bukayo Saka (20 starts), Martin Odegaard (26), Kai Havertz (23), and Gabriel Jesus (8). Beyond the absences, it seemed clear that Odegaard especially was less than 100% even after returning from his injury. Finishing second in an incredibly competitive league while also getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League is hardly something to apologize for. But given the turmoil among the usual suspects and big spenders, finishing second did feel like an opportunity missed. If there was a silver lining to the club’s injury issues, it was the emergence of some young talent from the club’s Hale End Academy. A pair of 18-year-olds, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, took the opportunity presented by the absences of Saka, Odegaard, and Calafiori and showed that, despite their youth, they are capable of competing at the highest level. Nwaneri scored four goals and assisted on a further three in Premier League play across 11 starts and 15 substitute appearances between Odegaard’s attacking midfield role and Saka’s wide attacking role. In addition to the statistics, he impressed with his fearlessness, control in tight spaces, and willingness to take on defenders. A left back capable of moving into midfield when the club is in possession, Lewis-Skelly didn’t produce significant counting statistics but did demonstrate his ability to both attack and defend while tasked with marking players like Mo Salah in the Premier League and Rodrygo of Real Madrid in the Champions League. Summer Activity I wrote an extensive post about Arsenal’s summer and invite you to check it out here if you want all of the details. To keep this post to a manageable length (too late, I know), I’ll just do a quick summary. The goals for the club in the summer transfer window were as follows: Secure a star-level center forward capable of scoring 20+ goals/season Replacing departing holding midfielders Tomas Partey and Jorginho with someone capable of shielding the back four and initiating the attack from deep. Building depth in key positions to ensure one or two key injuries couldn’t derail the season as the injuries to Odegaard and Saka did last season. Clearly, we will need to see how it plays out on the pitch but, on paper, the club accomplished all of these goals with approximately three weeks still to go in the summer transfer window. Here’s how each of the above items were addressed: In late July, Arsenal purchased Viktor Gorkeyes from Sporting Lisbon. Gyokeres scored at more than a goal per match across two title-winning seasons in the Portuguese first division. He also showed well in the Champions League. The step up to the Premier League is significant but there is ample reason to expect he will be a significant upgrade at center forward. To replace their two departing holding midfielders, Arsenal acquired Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad and Christian Norgaard from Brentford. Zubimendi has been an exceptional player in La Liga and should be an improvement over the aging Jorginho and frequently-injured Partey. He won’t light up the stat sheet but he should contribute to a tight defense and facilitate the transition to attack. Norgaard, until recently Brentford’s captain, will back up the Spaniard and provide steady play and veteran leadership. Beyond potential starters in Gyokeres and Zubimendi, Arsenal added depth at center back, wide attacker, and in goal with the additions of Cristhian Mosquera, Noni Madueke, and Kepa Arrizabalaga. Mosquera is a Spain youth international who will deputize for William Saliba and, hopefully, grow into an exceptional starter in his own right. The versatile 23-year-old Madueke, an England international, comes over from Chelsea where he enjoyed a strong season and will have an opportunity to compete with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard for a starting job on the left wing while also backing up Bukayo Saka on the right. Arrizabalaga joins Madueke coming to North London from West London. It didn’t work out at Chelsea for Kepa after arriving at Stamford Bridge as the most expensive goalkeeper in history but he represents a way-above-average reserve goalkeeping option behind David Raya. While the acquisitions from other clubs are likely to be the most impactful this season and into the near future, perhaps the most exciting development of the summer has been the arrival in the first team of 15-year-old Max Dowman. The Hale End product has been putting up crazy numbers in Arsenal’s youth set-up despite playing with far older players the past couple of seasons. Finally allowed to play with the first team after turning 15, Dowman has tantalized in pre-season including drawing two penalties and showing his ability to create from the right wing. It isn’t clear how much time the youngster is likely to see in the Premier League but he is certainly one to watch whenever he gets on the field. The Season Ahead As the 2025-26 season approaches, Arsenal are as talented and as deep as they have been since the title-winning days of the early 2000s. In defending champions Liverpool and newly healthy and reinforced Manchester City, they will face two significant rivals for the title with Chelsea potentially a wild card in the race after a strong summer showing at the Club World Cup and continued spending on their squad. As Arsenal kick off against Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 17th, the expected starting line-up will be as follows: GK: David Raya - The Spanish international is the reigning Golden Glove winner for most clean sheets in the 2024-25 season RB: Jurian Timber - The young Dutchman has been excellent when healthy but has struggled with injuries in pre-season so former England international Ben White may start the opener. CB: William Saliba - among the top few center backs in the world, the young Frenchman continues to ascend as the rock upon which Arsenal’s defense is built. CB: Gabriel - the Brazilian is a menace in the air winning defensive headers and contributing to Arsenal’s league-best record for scoring from corner kicks and set pieces. He and Saliba form arguably the best center back pairing in the Premier League. LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly - The 18-year-old will look to build on his exceptional breakout season last campaign. CDM: Martin Zubimendi - As noted above, the Spaniard won’t turn heads with his statistics but he has proven himself as one of the best all-around holding midfielders in the world in both La Liga and international play. RM: Bukayo Saka - Arsenal’s homegrown star, Saka is among the best young attackers in the world. If he can start 34 or more Premier League matches this campaign, the Gunners will be well-positioned to challenge for the title. CM: Declan Rice - The England captain has moved up the pitch from a holding midfield spot to a box-to-box role that will allow him more license to create, score, and work higher up the pitch in Arsenal’s high press. CM: Martin Odegaard - At his best, the Norwegian is the creative force the gives life to the Arsenal attack. His vision, range of passing, and ability to fit the ball into seemingly impossible spaces for his teammates to score was diminished after his injury last season but he should be back to his best after a summer with no commitments for club or country. LM: Gabriel Martinelli - The talented Brazilian has flashed moments of brilliance for Arsenal since his introduction into the squad as an 18-year-old in 2019. Now 24, he must add consistency to his game or face the possibility of losing his spot to Madueke or a new arrival. CF: Viktor Gyokeres - The towering Swedish international scored a load of goals in Portugal and will be counted on to translate that form to the Premier League. Arsenal’s title chances may well ride on his ability to be this generation’s Robin Van Persie. These players and key reserves like Kepa, Jakob Kiwior, Ricardo Calafiori, Norgaard, Moreno, Nwaneri, Madueke, and Havertz will face a tough start to the season with trips to Manchester United and Liverpool (1st in the Premier League last season) and visits from Nottingham Forest (7th), Manchester City (3rd), and Newcastle United (5th) before the end of September. It isn’t ideal for a team with a bunch of new players to integrate to face such a tough run right away but if they can survive the first two months, everything will be in place for a great run at the title. All in all, it’s going to be another exciting season for Arsenal fans! Hope you will join us this Sunday to watch the season kick off vs. Man United!
