Arsenal may well have endured a rather quiet transfer window after winning the Premier League but on the field, they have been purring.
Mikel Arteta’s side are in a dominant mood, winning their first three games of the season by an aggregate scoreline of 7-0. Despite the absence of William Saliba, the Gunners are still the meanest defence in the land.
Up top, however, there have been improvements with Bukayo Saka now back to his best.
How Bukayo Saka downed Coventry and Aston Villa
Last season was not Saka’s finest by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, after a horror hamstring injury in 2024/25, the wide man struggled for fitness once more in 2025/26.
As a result, he scored just 11 goals and registered seven assists. We say ‘just’ because the club’s number 7 holds himself to some lofty standards. This is a player who netted 20 times back in 2023/24.
Well, there are ominous signs now for the rest of the league that he is rediscovering his best form. Saka had some much-needed rest after the World Cup and he looks all the better for it.
His two goals this term have both been from close-range but the movement has been so intelligent. We are usually accustomed to seeing the England star cut in from the left hand side and crash home a lovely curling effort. However, his goals against both Coventry and Aston Villa have been rather different.
Against Coventry, he followed up Christos Tzolis’ cross that hit the goalkeeper to fire home the rebound and against Villa, he slid in at the near post to get on the end of Riccardo Calafiori’s cross.
As we said, simple goals, but really clever movement. After a series of hamstring and achilles issues, Saka has lost some of his explosiveness but he has not lost his intelligence, his football smarts. In that regard, he’s one of the best around. His decision making in key moments is first-class.
It is just a pity that Arsenal have been unable to find a similar sort of player on the left flank.
Arsenal could be about to sign a new Saka
Arsenal have tried ever so hard to bring in an elite forward during the transfer window but they look set to miss out.
They dilly-dallied over a move for Morgan Rogers which ultimately meant they lost him to Chelsea. They pushed hard for Vinicius Junior too but he ended up staying at Real Madrid. Bradley Barcola, Liverpool’s new man, was also deemed to be too expensive.
So, rather remarkably, the Premier League winners look set to head into the new season with just one out and out left winger in the entire squad in Tzolis. Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze could both fill in there but it’s far from ideal, particularly when you consider the quality of players they had been linked with.
Well, the Gunners haven’t been totally dormant on deadline day. Indeed, a new forward does look as though they’re on their way to join the club, albeit in 2027.
Indeed, according to The Athletic, Arsenal have now tied up a move for Georgian wonderkid Andria Bartishvili. They report that a deal has been ‘agreed’ between the Gunners and Kolkheti 1913, his parent club.
Bartishvili is currently 17 and thus cannot officially sign for Arsenal until he is 18. That means fans will not get to see him in action until next summer at the earliest.
In the grand scheme of things, this does not feel particularly exciting given how the club’s transfer window has played out. However, believe us when we say that the teenager could be on course to become one of the game’s global stars.
Sure, he’s not been playing at an elite level but he’s a hugely captivating player to watch, notably described by BBC Sport reporter Sami Mokbel as “the next Khvicha Kvaratskhelia”. That’s not just due to his nationality either.
Capable of playing on the left wing or as an attacking midfielder, Bartishvili possesses similar traits to Kvaratskhelia and Saka. His close control is excellent, his ability to manipulate the ball and get past opponents in tight spaces is very Saka-like.
His dribbling ability is already first-rate and if he continues to grow in the way he is right now, do not be surprised if he is ready for first-team football once he officially lands in north London next year.
While Arsenal may well have struggled to recruit senior players this summer, they have done a brilliant job of future proofing the team in the last 12 months or so.
Promising striker Igor Tyjon, a player who bears similarities to Julian Alvarez, signed for the club last Friday, while twin wonderkids Edwin and Holger Quintero also signed last autumn. Like Bartishvili, they could well become the future of this great club.
Arsenal supporters will be disappointed at how this window has played out but remember the day the club signed the Georgian when he’s starring for Arteta’s side.
