Andrea Berta’s first transfer window in charge of the recruitment at Arsenal was an eventful one.
The Gunners haven’t been shy of completing big deals in recent years – take Declan Rice for example – but even that sweet summer of 2025 was a statement one.
It was identified that Mikel Arteta‘s men needed greater depth to challenge for the title, so out they went and signed a whole host of players, the most marquee of which were Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi.
That said, a year on, no one on that list has established themselves as a regular starter and most are already in danger of being moved on.
Why some of Arsenal’s title winners are facing the axe
Arsenal were deserved winners of the Premier League in 2025/26. Despite late pressure from Manchester City, they were the best team in the land.
On that evidence, Berta’s recruitment drive just over a year ago had worked.
Gyokeres ended the campaign as the club’s top scorer with 21 goals in all competitions. Only Rice and David Raya played more minutes than Zubimendi.
Eze even scored a hat-trick against Tottenham. The investment looked worth it as they got their hands on the title at Selhurst Park.
Yet, Arteta is a ruthless manager and we have seen as much in recent months. Zubimendi has already been cast aside in favour of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bruno Guimaraes.
Christos Tzolis has been preferred to Eze on the left of the Arsenal attack and Kai Havertz is the leading man at the top of the pitch. Gyokeres has only played 29 minutes in the Premier League this season as a result.
|
League mins played by 2025 signings in 26/27 |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Minutes played |
|
Cristian Mosquera |
169′ |
|
Martin Zubimendi |
89′ |
|
Eberechi Eze |
85′ |
|
Piero Hincapie |
32′ |
|
Viktor Gyokeres |
29′ |
|
Noni Madueke |
23′ |
|
Kepa Arrizabalaga |
0 |
So, those big-money signings of 2025 are under pressure. Zubimendi has attracted interest from Chelsea while reports over the summer suggested that the Gunners were happy to seal a swap deal with Atletico Madrid involving Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez.
For the Swede, it really does feel as though his Arsenal career will not last beyond this season. The same can be said for the club’s modern-day Dennis Bergkamp.
Why it’s time for Bergkamp 2.0 to leave the Emirates behind
It is safe to say that Berta has divided opinion since becoming the Sporting Director at Arsenal.
This summer, he failed Arteta. They needed an elite forward and didn’t get their hands on one. He didn’t necessarily fail the manager in 2025, but it’s damning that every single one of those signings is now not in the starting XI. Christian Norgaard has even left in search of regular first-team football.
There are several question marks about last summer. Why did they sign Gyokeres and not Benjamin Sesko? Why did they sign Madueke when Ethan Nwaneri was right there?
The biggest question, however, is that with Nwaneri and Dowman in the pipeline, why did they sign Eze?
When he arrived from Crystal Palace, it was viewed as a fairytale. Arsenal had hijacked Tottenham’s move for the creative midfielder at the 11th hour and in doing so, they were signing a boyhood Gooner, a player who was spat out of the Hale End academy as a child.
On paper, it was a marvellous capture. Ian Wright was in dreamland too. Speaking about the deal at the time, he said: “We [Arsenal] need a player that has got a little bit more maverick, who can take players and can beat players and can score. He’s a game-changer.”
Wright added: “With the players that are around him, he could be a defining signing, like when Bergkamp came.”
Well, there may well have been some defining matches – he scored five goals against Spurs across the season – but it has not been a defining signing.
The truth is that Eze’s story is unlikely to have a picture-book happy ending. In all honesty, Arteta should be looking to move him on next year.
That hat-trick against Spurs was euphoric; it was historic and it was one of the moments of last term. However, that’s about as good as it has got for the Englishman in N5.
This season he looked like a player devoid of confidence, a player who has had his wings clipped. He looks far from the player who scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists during his final season with Palace.
In his seven outings this term, he has no goals and just a solitary assist. Both of his starts – versus Napoli and Ipswich – have not been very inspiring.
Sure, he supplied Dowman’s opener at Portman Road but it was a simple lay-off and beyond that he was totally outclassed by his younger peer. During Arsenal’s visit to Naples, Eze struggled even more. He was subbed off after 66 minutes having had just two of Arsenal’s 26 shots on the night.
He only won two of his seven duels and didn’t complete a dribble. Against a low block, a maverick like Eze was required to pick the lock but it was a rather subdued showing.
With Martin Odegaard in the form of his life, with Dowman breaking through and Arsenal’s desire to sign a world-class left winger in future transfer windows, do not be surprised if Eze’s Arsenal return lasts just a couple of years.