Arsenal 2025-26 season summary: Top scorer, best moment, new signings and full verdict on Mikel Arteta's campaign

Six years, 350 matches and over £1bn later, Mikel Arteta's five-phase Arsenal plan is finally complete.

When the UK was in lockdown, the Gunners had been tipped to go down - the words 'Arsenal' and 'relegation' were unironically being used in the same sentence while the #ArtetaOut brigade grew in numbers.

However, the erstwhile Gunners midfielder defied the doubters with the backing of the Kroenkes, Edu, Richard Garlick, AirPod Albert and countless other lieutenants, finally delivering a long-awaited fourth Premier League title to the Emirates faithful.

Here, Sports Mole provides an in-depth summary of Arsenal's unforgettable 2025-26 season.

Arsenal 2025-26 season summary

Arsenal's 2025-26 season began in quintessential Arsenal fashion - a narrow win, a clean sheet, a set-piece goal and a healthy dose of VAR controversy, all at the expense of Manchester United in a 1-0 triumph at Old Trafford.

The Gunners' gritty win over their rivals was only good enough for a sixth-placed ranking after the first gameweek, but top spot belonged to Arteta's side as early as matchday two, thanks to a Viktor Gyokeres and Jurrien Timber-inspired 5-0 battering of Leeds United in their opening home game.

However, Liverpool were still fans and pundits' favourites to retain their crown at this point, and the Reds enhanced their title credentials when Dominik Szoboszlai's astounding free kick condemned Arsenal to their first loss of the season, and their first Premier League defeat to a Big Six club since May 2023.

The Gunners quickly dusted themselves down to string together an 11-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, one that ended at the hands of Unai Emery's Aston Villa, but Arteta's side quickly hushed the inevitable bottle talk by winning their next five Premier League fixtures either side of the New Year.

By this point, Arsenal had held top spot in the Premier League table ever since gameweek seven, and not even a dissatisfactory run of two wins from seven Premier League matches between January 8 and February 18 allowed Man City to claw back their points deficit.

Red and white apprehension began to creep in again after successive defeats to Bournemouth and the Sky Blues, but consecutive wins over Newcastle United, Fulham and West Ham United took Arsenal to within two victories of title stardom.

© Iconsport / Every Second Media

Inevitably, Arsenal made life as difficult as possible for themselves against Burnley in the penultimate gameweek of the season, but that 1-0 triumph coupled with Man City's slip-up at Bournemouth the next evening ended 22 decades of domestic dismay.

Not content with just conquering England, Arsenal also sought to finally complete their decades-long mission in the Champions League, in which they became the first team to end the league phase with a 100% record.

Rewarded for their 8/8 with a favourable path to the final, the Gunners eked out narrow successes over Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting Lisbon to reach back-to-back semi-finals for the first time ever, and Arteta's men rectified their 2024-25 mistakes to reach the Budapest showpiece at the expense of Atletico Madrid.

There, Arsenal restricted the competition's top scorers Paris Saint-Germain to just the one penalty goal in 120 minutes, but after two hours of heroics in his own area, Gabriel Magalhaes briefly turned villainous, blasting the decisive penalty over the bar as PSG retained their Champions League crown.

Up until March 22, the quadruple fantasy could have still become a reality for Arsenal, who sought to end 33 years of EFL Cup hurt by getting the better of Man City in the Wembley final.

None of Arteta's squad had even been born the last time the Gunners won the League Cup, and that fact still applies now, as trophy winner extraordinaire Guardiola worked his Wembley magic alongside Nico O'Reilly to leave Arsenal heartbroken.

Less than a fortnight on from becoming the first team to lose four successive League Cup finals, Arsenal's FA Cup dreams also went up in smoke, as a second-string team were deservedly beaten by Southampton in the quarter-finals.

Defeat at St Mary's prolonged a painful FA Cup sequence for the Gunners, who still boast an unparalleled 14 triumphs in the tournament but have now failed to make it beyond the quarter-finals since their last success in 2020.

Arsenal trophies won 2025-26

Arsenal won their fourth trophy of the Arteta era - Community Shields included - in the 2025-26 season, as their Premier League success marked their 14th top-flight title in their 140-year history.

The Gunners' triumph also saw them end the longest wait between two Premier League titles; the previous biggest two-title gap was a mere five years between Liverpool's 2020 and 2025 coronations.

However, Arsenal's EFL Cup final loss means that they are without success in that competition for 33 years, and the torturous wait for a maiden UCL honour will continue for another season at least.

Arsenal top scorer 2025-26: Viktor Gyokeres (21)

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While not hitting the same Gerd Muller trophy-worthy heights as he did in his final year at Sporting Lisbon, Viktor Gyokeres overcame incessant criticism and scepticism to become a stellar acquisition for Arsenal.

The Sweden international comfortably finished the campaign as Arsenal's top scorer in all tournaments with 21 goals, including a respectable 14 in the Premier League at a rate of 0.57 goals per 90 - better than all of Ollie Watkins, Antoine Semenyo, Joao Pedro and Morgan Gibbs-White despite their higher overall totals.

Even in matches where Gyokeres did not find the back of the net, he would exhibit classic centre-forward play and enviable strength to the delight of the Emirates faithful, such as in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

Arsenal player of the season 2025-26: David Raya 

© Imago / Mark Pain

Making the impossible look possible on several occasions this season, Premier League Player of the Season nominee David Raya has a strong argument to label himself the best goalkeeper on the planet.

The 30-year-old has an outstanding defence in front of him, but that was only one factor in his third successive Premier League Golden Glove and 19 top-flight clean sheets, not to mention nine in the Champions League - one short of the all-time season record.

From his flying stop against Yankuba Minteh and lightning-quick reflexes vs. Kevin Schade, to an indescribable goal-line John McGinn save and THAT Mateus Fernandes intervention, Raya's catalogue of sensational saves makes for jaw-dropping viewing.

Arsenal's best moment of the 2025-26 season

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The moment when they found out they were Premier League champions, or the moment when they lifted the Premier League trophy in front of their beloved supporters? Take your pick.

But as photo-worthy as Arsenal's official celebrations were, there may have been a tinge of disappointment that the Gunners did not walk up to the podium on their own turf, whereas Emirates rapture ensued the second the final whistle blew at the Vitality Stadium on May 19, 2026.

The explosion of player euphoria at the London Colney training ground, Arsenal stars rocking up to the Emirates at 5am the next morning and the chaotic scenes across Africa all came together to produce one unforgettable moment for the Premier League champions.

Arsenal's biggest disappointment of the 2025-26 season

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From the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows, Arsenal's delirium turned to dejection when the ever-reliable Gabriel made an out-of-the-ordinary gaffe from the penalty spot.

Neither PSG nor Arsenal had their best penalty takers on the pitch by around 8pm UK time on May 30, but Gabriel had bravely volunteered to carry the weight of millions of red and white hearts on his shoulders.

A man who had never taken a regulation penalty in his entire career, the centre-back's wild attempt sailed into the PSG wall behind Matvey Safonov's goal, ensuring that Arsenal cannot call themselves champions of Europe just yet.

Arsenal new signings 2025-26

Arsenal confirmed transfers in: Summer 2025

Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5m from Chelsea)

Martin Zubimendi (£55.8m from Real Sociedad)

Christian Norgaard (£10m from Brentford)

Noni Madueke (£48.5m from Chelsea)

Cristhian Mosquera (£13.1m from Valencia)

Viktor Gyokeres (£55.5m from Sporting Lisbon)

Eberechi Eze (£60m from Crystal Palace)

Piero Hincapie (loan from Bayer Leverkusen)

Arsenal confirmed transfers in: January 2026

Evan Mooney (RW | Undisclosed from St Mirren)

Mikel Arteta verdict: 2025-26 season

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Ever since the 2021-22 season, there has been some form of domestic or continental progression for Arteta to shout about, and Arsenal's 2025-26 campaign was no different.

After multiple near-misses in the three years prior, the 44-year-old was under more pressure than ever to win one of the big ones, as whispers were growing among fans of a potential managerial change should he fail in that venture again.

However, Arteta leaned into Arsenal's standout quality - a European-leading defence - and while many Gunners matches were excruciating watches for the Emirates faithful, the man delivered the results in the form of a Premier League trophy.

The Spaniard got it wrong in the EFL Cup final and had no excuse for an FA Cup shock at Southampton, but there is no man better-suited to carry on taking Arsenal forward.

Arsenal 2025-26 season rating

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Never before have Arsenal been so close to winning the league and European Cup in a single season; an argument for the 2025-26 campaign to be called the Gunners' greatest ever all things considered.

Destroying the Premier League 'bottle jobs' label is a 10/10 achievement in itself, but not even the 2003-04 Invincibles would be awarded a perfect rating for their top-flight season; the 12 draws continues to be brought up in GOAT team debates.

Arsenal only won 25% of the trophies they competed for in 2025-26, and they lost the Champions League final in the most heartbreaking circumstances imaginable.

But when Gunners look back on their sixth full season under Arteta - with Premier League winners' medals around their necks - the 38-game positives far outweigh the knockout negatives.

Arsenal season rating: 8.5/10