At a Glance:
- Arsenal have missed a creative spark this season
- Andrea Berta should have tried signing a Manchester City star in the summer
Ultimately, the finest metric to judge Andrea Berta’s stint as Arsenal’s sporting director so far would be to wait and discover whether the Gunners take home a major trophy at the end of the season.
If Mikel Arteta’s side get over the line in either competition this term, the 59-year-old could end up receiving widespread praise for further bolstering the Spaniard’s squad in the summer. However, as things stand, one could argue that none of Andrea Berta’s new recruits have managed to set the world alight during their debut campaigns at Arsenal.
Viktor Gyokeres, for instance, is yet to cement his status as a world-class striker at the Emirates Stadium, scoring a mere 12 goals in 30 Premier League appearances this campaign. Despite the Swede bagging a staggering 102 goals in 103 games for Sporting CP, the 27-year-old’s return to England has yet to pan out as many may have expected, considering he has been of Europe’s most prolific marksmen in recent years.
Similarly, Noni Madueke’s tally of a mere two goals and one assist in 21 league appearances goes to show that he is yet to establish himself as a top-class winger at Arsenal as well. Furthermore, Kepa Arrizabalaga’s infamous error against Manchester City has done his reputation no favours in recent weeks while his countryman Martin Zubimendi is facing criticism for struggling against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
Christian Mosquera remains an adept backup to Arsenal’s impregnable centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes while Christian Norgaard has made a mere 10 starts in total this season, begging the question about whether Andrea Berta has managed to elevate the club’s starting XI.
Arsenal missed a trick by not trying to seal Rayan Cherki signing
With the Gunners’ attack coming under fire from pundits such as Micah Richards, who questioned Arsenal’s creativity, it is perhaps worth asking why Berta seemingly did not even try to seal the signing of Rayan Cherki last summer. After all, Manchester City sealed Cherki’s acquisition for just £34 million (Sky Sports), a fee that has been made to look like an absolute snip by the French international.
The former Lyon technician, who has 10 assists in the Premier League this season has only been bettered by Bruno Fernandes (17 assists in 28 league starts) as a creative force in the English top-flight. Impressively, Cherki has started 13 less games than Fernandes, which highlights how exceptional a creator he is.
| Premier League stats | Bruno Fernandes | Rayan Cherki |
| Starts | 28 | 15 |
| Assists | 16 | 10 |
| Assists per start | 0.57 | 0.67 |
For context, the midfielder has managed to register double the assists of Arsenal’s standout creators in the league in Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard, who all have five to their name so far. While Odegaard’s leadership qualities at Arsenal remain unquestionable, him registering a mere six assists in all competition as the club’s go-to number 10 exemplifies the Norwegian’s fall from grace since last season.
The same can be said for Eberechi Eze, who has managed to notch just two assists in 17 league starts for his boyhood club despite earning a reputation as one of England’s most creative players at Crystal Palace.
It is also key to note that Mikel Arteta simply lacks a bona fide match-winner in the final third like Cherki, who has demonstrated a knack for producing a moment of magic to get Manchester City over the line time and again this season.
From the youngster’s brace of assists against Chelsea on the weekend to his last-gasp stunner against Nottingham Forest in City’s 2-1 win in December, the Carabao Cup winner has the makings of a world-class attacking midfielder, a profile Arsenal have perhaps missed since Mesut Ozil’s departure in 2021.
With Cherki showcasing that he can split defences open from a variety of situations, his signing should have been a no-brainer for Arsenal. Standout examples such as his sumptuous rabona assist for Phil Foden’s headed goal against Sunderland or Cherki’s gorgeous through ball to assist Antoine Semenyo’s strike against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final emphasise why he is an excellent creator.
Having been deployed as a touchline winger, in attacking midfield as well as in an inside forward role by Pep Guardiola, the fleet-footed attacker would have offered tactical flexibility to Mikel Arteta in abudance.
Fabrizio Romano reveals why clubs passed up on Rayan Cherki signing
Numbers don’t lie and as far as open play assists per game are concerned in the league, Cherki manages to top the list as well with 0.41 to his name.
Saka and Odegaard are both in the top 7 players in the league for open play expected assists per 90
— Rory Talks Football (@Rory_Talks_Ball) April 12, 2026
I know their form hasn’t been great, but their return is crucial to us creating more chances pic.twitter.com/bsx4TYDimd
While Bukayo Saka (0.22) and Odegaard (0.21) sit in sixth and seven place respectively, Cherki has quickly become the gold standard for creative players in Premier League football.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that several clubs passed up on the chance to sign the highly-rated number 10 as they had heard murmurings about him having attitude issues.
While Romano did not name Arsenal as one of the clubs on his YouTube channel, the Italian did claim Manchester City took a punt on Cherki regardless, an approach that Arsenal should have embraced as well.
“Manchester City decided to trust Rayan Cherki despite them knowing several clubs leaving conversations to sign him one year before in summer 2024 because of the attitude of the player and some reports around that.”
Romano added: “Rayan Cherki was very close to joining another English club in summer 2024 but the deal didn’t happen and then, he was on the verge of joining Borussia Dortmund. Then, a big fight started between Dortmund and Olympique Lyon about the release clause, valid, not valid, official, not official, so the deal collapsed.”
