After another trophyless season for Mikel Arteta, there are several factors for those at Arsenal to blame.
The endless red cards and injuries halted their progress significantly but they have still been good enough for a second-placed finish in the Premier League and a Champions League semi-final.
Why didn’t they get over the line? Well, their recruitment in the last year or so hasn’t been great.
Last summer, Arsenal brought in David Raya permanently and also welcomed in Mikel Merino, somebody who’s become quite the cult hero of late for his performances as an emergency centre forward. No one will forget his goal against Real Madrid in a hurry.
There was also the addition of injury-prone Riccardo Calafiori and a loan move to bring in Raheem Sterling. The less said about him, the better.
Then, when it came to January, Arsenal clearly needed a new forward and did not sign one. Just days after the window slammed shut, Kai Havertz was ruled out for four months with a hamstring injury, only just returning in the recent 1-0 win over Newcastle at The Emirates.
For the most part, Arteta’s recruitment since being given the job has been strong, stronger than some of the business done in the later years of Arsene Wenger’s tenure, that’s for sure.
Arsenal's biggest mistakes in the transfer market
It’s safe to say that Arsenal have made a number of howlers in recent years; the biggest of which is the decision not to sign a central forward.
In that time, they’ve let America international Folarin Balogun leave while Mika Biereth, now teammates with Balogun at Monaco, has quickly become one of the most prolific forwards in Europe.
Following a successful loan spell at Sturm Graz last summer, the Austrian side signed him permanently for £4m, and after a goal-laden time of it in the Bundesliga, he headed off to Monaco.
Over the course of this campaign, the Dane has found the net on 27 occasions in 44 games. In 2025, he’s scored 13 times, making him the fourth highest scorer in Europe’s best leagues this calendar year.
1. Kylian Mbappe
19 (17)
2. Serhou Guirassy
15 (18)
3. Ousmane Dembele
13 (14)
4. Mika Biereth
13 (16)
5. Mateo Retegui
13 (18)
6. Patrik Schick
12 (19)
Cast your minds back further, and the disappointing exit of Serge Gnabry will most definitely sing
The German scored in the Champions League against the Gunners last season and while he’s not always been a regular starter this term, his numbers at Bayern Munich speak for themselves, registering 152 goal involvements across 280 outings.
Gnabry, who wasn’t good enough for Tony Pulis during a loan spell at West Brom, has only gone from strength to strength since then.
Now 29 years of age, the Arsenal academy graduate is a six-time league winner with Bayern, having also won a solitary Champions League and taking home a Club World Cup amid a plethora of domestic cup successes.
But, despite the sincere number of goals being outlined here, they arguably aren’t Arsenal’s biggest mistake; that remains Harry Kane.
Why Harry Kane left Arsenal
“Harry Kane, he’s one of our own.” That’s the song adoring Tottenham Hotspur fans used to sing in the direction of their beloved striker.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
Yet, was this statement ever really true? Perhaps not.
While Kane grew up playing in the Spurs academy, Arsenal was his very first club. There’s a remarkable image of the attacker dressed in a red and white jersey as a child, but it never quite happened for him at the Gunners.
It was at the age of 12 that he left the red side of London behind, and the club’s former academy manager, Roy Massey, has since revealed why.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Massey noted: “To release Harry Kane [from Arsenal], we don’t have a crystal ball. If we did then we would be successful in every youngster that we take on.
“Harry was a lovely young player. He was quiet, shy, didn’t have what we thought it would take to become a professional footballer and so we were totally mistaken.
“Although I’ve got to say that when Harry was released when he was 11 or 12 years of age, he did go to play for his Sunday league club for the next three years so no other club picked him up in that age group.”
Well, he’s certainly proven Massey wrong during what has been a remarkable career at club and international level.
How Harry Kane compares to Thierry Henry
The biggest club legend of them all, as far as Arsenal are concerned, is the great Thierry Henry. Titi, as he was affectionately known, signed for the Gunners in a deal worth just £11m. Of course, that was over 20 years ago now but it remains one of the biggest bargains we’ve seen.
Signed as a left winger, Wenger crafted his fellow Frenchman into an elite centre forward, quickly breaking records and becoming one of, if not the best foreign import we’ve seen in the Premier League era.
Henry won the Premier League twice, the FA Cup three times, was a league Golden Boot winner on two occasions and eventually left Highbury and the Emirates behind having scored a phenomenal 228 goals in 377 games, making him the club’s record goalscorer.
Arsenal
377
228
101
AS Monaco
141
28
4
New York Red Bulls
135
52
40
Barcelona
121
49
27
Juventus
20
3
2
Over the course of his career, the World Cup winner bagged 411 goals for club and country, but Kane, as astonishing as Henry was, has now surpassed that figure.
We’re not for one minute suggesting the England captain is a better player but it speaks volumes of his remarkable progression in the senior game.
From that rejection at Arsenal as a 12-year-old, since making his senior bow, he has now found the net on a whopping 449 occasions for club and country. He is England’s top goal scorer in history and he’s now finally a trophy winner too.
Kane ended his hoodoo this term, lifting the Bundesliga title above his head a few weeks ago. He’s been nothing short of a sensation for Bayern Munich, scoring 82 goals in 91 appearances.
He is a true modern phenomenon, perhaps the best finisher in world football. Arsenal let that depart at the age of 12.
Their own Haaland: Arsenal set to make major move to sign £59m "monster"
The prolific international could be the difference between glory and disappointment for Arsenal.
ByJack Salveson HolmesMay 20, 2025