Ok, today we’ve got the mostly traditional end of season players ratings post, which also gives a rating to the performance of Mikel Arteta as manager. A couple of things to point out. 1 – I’m using a 1-10 rating system – like in the player ratings on Arseblog News. In this, 6 is considered the baseline/average, the starting point at which performance levels go up or down. 2 – The ratings are individual, based on expectations of them and what they’re capable of, rather than comparable with teammates. So don’t say ‘How can you give X this when you gave Y that?’. 3 – In the end there’s no right or wrong, these are subjective ratings. Don’t get personally offended by them. I don’t hate your favourite player. So let’s get on with it, starting with: Goalkeepers David Raya: We have the best goalkeeper in the Premier League right now, and bar one of two iffy moments, he’s been absolutely outstanding. Some of the saves he makes are breathtakingly good, and he’s such an assured presence at the back. We would not have won the league without him. Rating: 9 Kepa Arrizabalaga: Took some of the burden off Raya, making 11 appearances across cup competitions before a Premier League start on the final day. He was clearly a much more useful option than Neto last season, but his campaign will be defined by that Carabao Cup final blunder. Rating: 4.5 Defenders Jurrien Timber: If I had some concerns about how often he ended up in attacking channels during a period when it felt like goals we hard to come by, his absence from mid-March provided perspective on that. By some distance the best one on one defender in Europe, and he was badly missed. Chipped in with 4 goals and 7 assists in all competitions. Rating: 8 Ben White: Sadly a season punctuated by injury was finished by injury, robbing him of a Champions League final appearance. He did struggle to find his best form, but looked like he was rediscovering it late in the season. Still made 30 appearances in all competitions, and as rumours abound about the summer and his future, it would be sad if his Arsenal career ended like that. Rating: 7 (maybe we give him an extra point for throwing those Facebook pervert glasses away?) William Saliba: I don’t think we take him for granted, but I do feel at times his consistency is overlooked. 50 appearances across all competitions, he remains an absolute Rolls Royce of a player. Also signed a new contract, committing to the long-term future of the team. Rating: 8.5 Gabriel: Obviously his season ended in heartbreaking fashion, but up to that point he remained an absolute warrior. His set-piece prowess is a real weapon, although his last Premier League goal came in January, but his super-power for me is the way he reads the game and defends in our box. There were countless occasions where he blocked shots that could have hurt us and seen the season end differently. Rating: 8.5 Cristhian Mosquera: A solid debut season for the young Spaniard, that one moment in Budapest apart. I think he’s much more a centre-half than a right-back though, so there’s some forgiveness there, and unless there’s an emergency again (as there was this weekend), his football will be played centrally next season. Rating: 7 Riccardo Calafiori: Concerns over his fitness are valid, but for me the best football Arsenal played this season coincided with his longest run in the team at left-back. There’s more to it, of course, but the attacking thrust he provided was important in a season where the attack struggled to find fluency and consistency. I harbour some regrets he couldn’t get on the pitch in Budapest. Rating: 7 Piero Hincapie: If his signing raised an eyebrow or two initially, those were lowered over the course of the season. He played almost as much as a centre-half as he did as a left-back due to injuries elsewhere, and if you need someone to scrap and fight for the team, he did exactly that. Got his bum out. Rating: 7.5 Midfielders Declan Rice: Like Saliba and Gabriel, there’s a consistency to his base-level which sets him apart from most other Premier League midfielders. No player played more outfield minutes, to the point we heard him talk more than once about how tired he was, but the next game he was there to perform well again. My only slight complaint is I think he’s got more goals in him, but that’s not really a big issue. Incredible set-piece delivery. Knows when it’s done and when it’s not done (unlike Gary Neville). Rating: 9 Martin Zubimendi: I feel like we have to almost give him two ratings. The first half of the season was very, very good, and I don’t think we should overlook that, but as it went on, he faded and the level dropped. Only Rice played more minutes, so perhaps Mikel Arteta needs to take some responsibility there. Still, 57 appearances is a lot for a first campaign in England, more than any other player, and to get the best out of him we need to be smarter with midfield recruitment this summer than last. Rating: 7 Martin Odegaard: There was a time when Arsenal played well, the captain was typically at the heart of it. This season he was in and out of the team due to a series of injuries, and despite some flashes of what we know he can bring (Newcastle and West Ham away, for example), he fell short of his best too often. I still think most of his ‘problems’ stem from fitness and a lack of fluency because of that, but as a player nears 28 (he remains 27 until that time though, that’s how it works), you can’t help but have some concerns. Rating: 6.5 Mikel Merino: A player we missed badly in the second half of the season. He’s such a goal threat, Newcastle away a prime example, you can’t help but wonder if we might have benefitted from that in some of those tight games. Got 4 Premier League goals before his injury in January, which is more than the likes of Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli etc, who play in more attacking positions. Rating: 7 Myles Lewis-Skelly: Included in midfield because that’s where I think his Arsenal future lies. The signing of Hincapie told us something about what Arteta wanted in that position, physically and technically MLS is a much different profile. I’m sure this will have been a season of real frustration for him, riding the bench far too often, but in the end he demonstrated his midfield ability, and got the nod in a Champions League final. Hopefully those are the positive notes to use to push on next season. Rating: 7 Ethan Nwaneri: Worth mentioning just because when Odegaard picked up those early season shoulder injuries, both early in games too, he was the man trusted by Arteta to replace him. However, barely played in the league after that, the loan to Marseille was supposed to go better than it did, and despite scoring on his debut there, became more and more peripheral as the Ligue 1 season went on. He’s still young, but after bursting onto the scene last year, this felt like a step backwards. Rating: 5 Christian Norgaard: His signing made sense, an experienced Premier League player who could help take the burden off Rice and Zubimendi, but that just didn’t happen. Quite why he never earned the trust of the manager remains a talking point. A consummate pro behind the scenes, but just 101 PL minutes tells its own story. Did play a bit in the cups, but as per the Zubimendi rating above, whoever we bring in to replace him has to be a more viable option in the league. Rating: 4 Forwards Viktor Gyokeres: A player around whom there was such conversation all season. I can’t lie and say I didn’t find him a source of frustration, a player of his experience should have been able to do the basics better at times. But a lot was asked of him early on with the injury to Kai Havertz, and as the season went on aspects of his game that were frustrating improved. Showed some real strength of character too. Finished the season as our top scorer with 21 goals from 55 appearances in all competitions, but I think the fact it was Havertz who started the Champions League final tells you something about where he is in the pecking order. Rating: 7.5 Bukayo Saka: 11 goals and 9 assists in what many would consider an ‘off season’ is not a bad return, but he’s set the bar so high for himself that overall it felt like a bit of a disappointing campaign for him. Ideally you’d like him to have a summer off, dealing with a late season Achilles issue was a real concern, but he’ll be with England on World Cup duty after 49 appearances for Arsenal. Rating: 7 Eberechi Eze: Some wonderful moments, the hat-trick against Sp*rs, the goal against Palace, that thunderbolt against Leverkusen, but some disappointments too, not least the penalty in the Champions League final. At times it felt as if his slightly laid-back maverick character was not necessarily to the manager’s taste, but the romance of his return to the club he loves and ending up a title winner is one of stories of the season. Scoring goals in two 1-0s that were so vital means he really did play his part, as well as annoying the crap out of the noisy neighbours. Rating: 7 Leandro Trossard: Early season Trossard was very good, then he went through a spell where he couldn’t buy a goal, before popping up with that vital one against West Ham late in the season. He’s been a fantastic signing, but if Arsenal aren’t looking at the left-hand side this summer I’ll be really surprised. Rating: 6.5 Gabriel Martinelli: Just one Premier League goal all season isn’t really good enough from 30 appearances, but was a vital one – securing an early season draw with Man City. More prolific in the Champions League with 6 goals, but hasn’t really kicked on the way we’d all have hoped. Rating: 6.5 Noni Madueke: He certainly gave us depth in a position where everybody has been crying out for it, and we’ve seen flashes of really good stuff, but a lot of frustrating stuff too. The decision making/final ball is too erratic in general, and at 24, you can’t help but wonder if that will ever improve. The raw ingredients are good, they just remain too raw, too often. Rating: 6.5 Kai Havertz: Missed the first half of the season through injury, but returned to show what we’d missed. The winner at Sporting away, the goal against Burnley that secured a 1-0 win which would be so crucial in that week when Man City dropped points, a goal away at City, and a goal in the Champions League final too. I think he’s Arteta’s trusted centre-forward lieutenant but I prefer him there than in midfield where I think he’s far less impactful. Rating: 7 Gabriel Jesus: Had a couple of nice moments, the goal against Aston Villa off the bench in particular, but it seems clear the injuries mean he doesn’t have what it takes for a team with the kind of aspirations we have now. The fact he was barely used in the run-in tells the story, and there will probably be a parting of the ways this summer despite his insistence he wants to stay. Rating: 5 Max Dowman: Here for that Everton goal alone, a spine-tingling way to create a home stadium moment that few will ever forget. His role next season will be fascinating, after a season with the first team, and still at such a young age, you hope he’s going to take a step forward but he’s still so young we have to manage expectations a little! Rating: 7 Manager Mikel Arteta: Arsenal won the Premier League after 22 years, reached the Champions League final unbeaten only to lose on the finest of margins, and got to the Carabao Cup final too. All of this without any of our attacking players really going supernova. It was tough going at times, but I thought his messaging throughout the campaign was really important and effective, and while there are always going to be things about a manager that frustrate us, by any objective measure he’s done a fantastic job. The challenge now is to up the level again, which gets increasingly difficult the better your team is, but that’s one I’m certain he’s going to relish. He’s great at identifying a ‘weakness’ and rectifying that, and hopefully we see that again in the summer with the recruitment and squad building. Rating: 9 — So, there you go. Another season of ratings done and dusted. Feel free to discuss and debate in the Arses. Have a good one folks! The post Arseblog end of season player ratings 2025-26 appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.