Without tempting fate, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Arsenal are on course to defend their Premier League title.
Nine wins and one loss from ten matches is no small feat – and it’s worth noting that Mikel Arteta’s side haven’t even been that good. There is far more to come from this team.
However, it would be fair to say that the Gunners need to be a bit sharper on the recruitment front in 2027, should they hope to maintain their strong position as the Premier League’s top dogs.
Where Andrea Berta has gone wrong with Arsenal’s recruitment
Arsenal failed to deliver to the Emirates an elite attacker this summer. Both Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez were coveted, but technical director Andrea Berta and co were unable to get either signing over the finish line.
Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard both left, weakening Arteta’s frontline, but Christos Tzolis was shrewdly signed from Club Brugge for around £35m.
After a fast start, Tzolis has ebbed away from the expected standards on the left wing. With Eberechi Eze also struggling to recapture his Crystal Palace form, one year on from his £67m move to north London, there’s a strong case to be made that Berta has failed to supply Arteta with the calibre of forwards he has desired.
This only illustrates how grand a job the Spanish coach has done with the Gunners, but changes are needed going forward, with another big-money attacker having now sealed his fate as Arsenal’s biggest transfer blunder since Raheem Sterling arrived at the club.
Sterling’s failed spell at Arsenal
Sterling swapped Chelsea for Arsenal with a weight of expectation. It was a shrewd move for a proven Premier League superstar, and though he ended up spinning his wheels at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal presented a far more hospitable environment for him to rekindle his swagger.
The 31-year-old failed to make a dent in north London. Fitness and form never aligned with the title-challeging trajectory Arteta had led the club toward. In the Premier League, Sterling failed to score across seven starts. In fact, he failed to hit the target or create a single big chance across his year with Arteta’s side in the top flight.
Sterling has led a storied journey, but his time at Arsenal will not be remembered fondly when eyes are cast back toward his illustrious career – if at all.
|
Raheem Sterling’s Senior Career by Club |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Apps |
Goals + Assists |
|
Man City |
339 |
131 + 87 |
|
Liverpool |
129 |
23 + 18 |
|
Chelsea |
81 |
19 + 15 |
|
Arsenal |
28 |
1 + 5 |
|
Feyenoord |
8 |
0 + 1 |
However, at least the England international didn’t complete a permanent move to the Emirates. He failed to make the grade, but letting him leave proved easy enough, and since then, Arsenal have signed an even bigger flop for a lot of money.
Arsenal star is their biggest flop since Sterling
Sterling, at least, only spent a season on loan with Arsenal. He fell flat, to be sure, but hardly for the same financial cut as Viktor Gyokeres, who might be a Premier League winner, but has not provided this team with the elite presence at No. 9 that they have sought for so long.
In 2025, Arsenal finally found the elite centre-forward they had searched for over a number of years. Gyokeres arrived having scored 97 goals from 102 games for Sporting CP, and the Gunners paid £64m to make him their frontman.
However, the 28-year-old clearly isn’t one of the best forwards in Europe. He has scored 23 goals across 69 games in all competitions for Arsenal, but this is no world-class record, and his general play leaves so, so much to be desired.
Arteta often favours the more dynamic Kai Havertz at the spearhead, and the fact Gyokeres has only started once in the Premier League this season, used six times off the bench, speaks volumes toward where he sits in the manager’s thinking right now.
In fairness to him, Swedish striker Gyokeres hasn’t been abject for Arsenal. He scores goals, and by and large, that is his job at the front of Arteta’s team.
These are good problems to have. Despite frustration over missed targets and forwards such as Gyokeres failing to live up to the billing, Arteta has shaped Arsenal into a title-winning force.
If Berta can make the right adjustments in 2027, this dynasty may well last for many years ahead.
