Just a matter of weeks ago, there was a real worry that Arsenal‘s campaign would slip away.
The Gunners had lost the Carabao Cup final, had been knocked out of the FA Cup by Southampton and suffered incredibly damaging Premier League defeats to Manchester City and Bournemouth.
As a result, as much as rival fans fail to give their credit, applause must be handed out to Mikel Arteta‘s men for the way in which they have responded.
There has been a big momentum shift over the last ten days, not least because City dropped points to Everton but because Arsenal dispatched Fulham 3-0, made it through to a first Champions League final for two decades and then beat West Ham 1-0 on Sunday.
How have they done it? Well, Arteta has managed to get a tune out of a few players who had struggled in 2025/26. That has been huge in Arsenal’s recent evolution.
Arsenal’s underperformers finally come to the party
What a ten day period this has been for the Gunners. It has been well and truly season-defining, providing they do go on to win the Premier League title as is expected.
A major part of the team’s recent revival has been the improved fortunes of the forward line. Bukayo Saka has returned from injury and he is back with a bang. Before the game with Fulham, the winger had struggled for form and fitness, notably scoring just two goals between the beginning of December and the end of April.
Yet, he is now back in the groove, scoring and assisting against Fulham while netting that famous goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg.
Together with Viktor Gyokeres, the attack looks much better at Arsenal. He has enjoyed perhaps the finest week of his career in north London to date. He did not score against Atleti but he ran the Spanish side ragged all night long. He also scored twice in that win over Fulham.
Perhaps the most pleasing development, however, has been the re-emergence of wonderkid Myles Lewis-Skelly. Reports this year have suggested that he could well leave the Emirates behind, but the idea of that has surely now been eradicated. In the last three games, he has issued a timely reminder of his qualities.
Starting alongside Declan Rice in midfield, he has given the team a much-needed dose of energy from the middle of the park and it has been game-changing.
Let us not forget this is a player who, until that match with Marco Silva’s men, had only started one league in 2026. Perhaps he’ll make a late dart for the World Cup yet.
That said, the most surprising and pleasing revival has happened slightly further forward than Lewis-Skelly.
Arsenal’s new Zinchenko silences the doubters
In Gyokeres, Arsenal have found a player who now finally looks ready to dominate the Premier League. It has been a brilliant week for the big Swede who has silenced his doubters. It’s safe to say he’s had many of them since arriving in the English capital.
Another player to have taken a huge amount of criticism this season is Leandro Trossard.
The Belgian started the campaign really impressively, emphatically answering questions around why he was given a pay rise last summer. Indeed, the left winger scored eight goals and supplied six in his first 22 matches of 2025/26.
Yet, since then, it’s been an arduous season for Trossard. Aged 31, it looked like the forward’s days at Arsenal were numbered. Once a mightily important part of the Arteta project, he was falling into the Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko type of category. Like Trossard, they played a huge part in previous title challenges, but they had ultimately become a crop of ageing players who had served their purpose.
|
Trossard vs West Ham |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Touches |
46 |
|
Accurate passes |
22/32 (69%) |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Shots |
3 |
|
Shots on target |
2 |
|
Hit the woodwork |
2 |
|
Big chances created |
1 |
|
Fouled |
3x |
|
Carries |
12 |
Like Zinchenko, he looked very much set to leave with a whimper; out of the team and his form deteriorating.
Yet, the Belgium international had fought off the doubters much in the same way that Gyokeres has. All of a sudden, he looks like a vital player again as Arsenal home in on potentially two trophies.
It all started with the win over Fulham where Trossard was nothing short of mesmeric on the left flank. Not only did he provide the assist for Gyokeres’ second goal but he also completed six dribbles in the game. That was a career-best Premier League tally for the winger.
He played even better against West Ham last weekend. While the win was not as emphatic, the diminutive forward’s performance was man of the match worthy.
It was Trossard who popped up with the all-important goal to put Arsenal within just two games of winning the title. What has made this mini run of form all the more impressive is what came before. Prior to netting at the London Stadium, the £27m signing from Brighton had not scored a single goal in 2026. In fact, his spell was so barren that he had not beaten the goalkeeper in 25 games.
Well, like his colleague on the right of the attack, Trossard is now back and he’s undroppable. There is no chance Arteta selects Gabriel Martinelli ahead of him for the rest of the season.
From being numbered like Zinchenko and Jesus, it’s quite the career revival.
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