Arteta must drop Arsenal star who made just 11 passes

Mikel Arteta’s side may well be in the hunt to win the quadruple but Arsenal’s last two performance have been anything but vintage.

Last Saturday was a less glamour affair, winning 2-1 away at Mansfield Town but under the bright lights in Germany, they delivered a similarly turgid performance against Bayer Leverkusen.

Indeed, as the club’s Champions League knock-out campaign got underway, the Londoners drew 1-1 with their Bundesliga opposition and they were made to work incredibly hard to take a result back to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg next Tuesday.

Kai Havertz returned to his former club to score a late penalty but you have to say there was an element of luck to Arsenal coming away with anything on their travels.

How Arsenal drew with Bayer Leverkusen

As Arsenal get towards the business stage of the season you can forgive them for looking a little tired. Well, they’ve certainly looked like that in recent weeks, even if their squad depth has been hailed as the best in Europe.

Against Leverkusen, they were made to look rather average, truth be told, as the team with the second best defensive record at home in the Bundesliga proved exactly why they are so difficult to break down.

While Arsenal coasted through much of the game without being troubled too much by the German outfit, their frustrations boiled down to yet another frustrating night in the final third, most specifically for Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal’s starboy recently signed a new mega contract to the tune of £300k-per-week but his performances have arguably not been justifying such a high wage.

In 2026 so far, the winger has scored just twice in 14 matches. In fact, if you look back into the latter stages of 2025 and his run of games with just two goals extends to as many as 21.

He has been well below par for quite a few months now and his display in Leverkusen was perhaps the nadir of his season to date. Hauled off without an hour even played, Saka left the pitch having failed to provide a key pass or have a shot on target. All three of his crosses were inaccurate too.

As a result, it was not a surprise the rest of the forward line struggled. It was until Havertz’s late penalty that they found the net. Coincidentally, it was Saka’s replacement in Noni Madueke who won the spot kick.

Before that, however, Leverkusen had beaten Arsenal at their own game, with Robert Andrich scoring a header from a corner shortly after the break.

So, in general, it was a rather poor night for many in red and white. That said, Saka wasn’t Arsenal’s biggest underperformer.

Arsenal’s worst player against Leverkusen

Club captain on the night, Saka’s display was perhaps one of his worst for the club since breaking through as a spritely teenager.

However, he or his teammates were hardly helped by striker Viktor Gyokeres who continues to be a polarising figure at the top end of the pitch for Arteta’s side.

The Swede has struggled for consistency since joining from Sporting last summer but in 2026, he has arguably been one of Arsenal’s best players. After scoring twice against Spurs a few weeks ago, the centre-forward had netted eight goals in 12 matches this calendar year.

Sadly, since that fine performance in north London, Gyokeres has reverted to type. His performance against Brighton in the 1-0 win was arguably his worst, ceding possession 13 times despite taking just 20 touches of the ball. He couldn’t hold the ball up whatsoever.

Well, it was a similar sort of performance from the big-money arrival in this one. He lasted 74 minutes before being replaced by Havertz, but his substitution should have come much sooner.

While Saka did enjoy a few vibrant moments down the right, Gyokeres cut an anonymous figure who simply couldn’t hold onto the ball. That meant Arsenal were not able to relieve any pressure once they got the ball forward.

The big-money striker had just 21 touches on Wednesday evening, 11 fewer than goalkeeper David Raya, while he also completed only 69% of his passes, ceding possession on six occasions.

To make matters worse, he did not have a single shot at goal. That sadly tells a sorry story of his Arsenal career to date. Too many games have passed him by where he has not looked like a threat in the slightest.

While Havertz’s involvement was limited to the goal, it was a far more positive impact and at this crucial stage of the season, the German simply has to start over both Gyokeres and Jesus. They will, however, need to keep him fit. They have been unable to do so for the best part of a year now, but if they are to have any hope of winning the competition, Arteta needs him in the team.

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