England star shines with 8.25/10 rating in Arsenal's Team of the Season so far
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Arsenal’s bid to finally dethrone Manchester City as Premier League champions remains on hold as the international break gets underway. Mikel Arteta’s squad have once again started their 2024/25 campaign in impressive fashion, not yet suffering a defeat as they match the Sky Blues on 17 points - one behind leaders Liverpool.
Their opening seven fixtures have not been without their tests, however, as Arteta has been forced to contend with numerous injury concerns - notably club captain Martin Odegaard being out of action after sustaining an ankle injury while on international duty last month.
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Hide AdHowever, that has not stopped the N7 squad from performing at the highest standard and, according to statistics from Whoscored.com, here is who has made the cut for Arsenal’s highest rated starting XI from 2024/25 campaign:
GK: David Raya


Arsenal have conceded the second fewest goals in the Premier League this season with six. The Spanish goalkeeper has so far made 25 saves and put in several standout performances - notably against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. In the latter, Raya made nine saves as a ten-man Arsenal drew 2-2.
Rating: 7.32
RB: Jurrien Timber
Having missed the entirety of the 2023/24 season with an ACL injury, expectations were high for the ex-Ajax defender. He has not disappointed, starting five Premier League games already, and covering tremendously for the injured Ben White.
Rating: 6.82
CB: Gabriel Magalhaes
Unsurprisingly, Gabriel makes the starting XI as he rates the fourth best in the entire Arsenal squad. Aside from his exceptional defending, which has helped to keep six clean sheets, the Brazilian star has scored two goals - one of which would be the winner in the north London derby.
Rating: 7.12
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Hide AdCB: William Saliba
French defender Saliba joins Gabriel in the central defence. After a phenomenal 2023/24 campaign, the centre-back pairing are once again the envy of European football.
Rating: 6.94
LB: Riccardo Calafiori
Calafiori has quickly made his mark on the Premier League, making five appearances and scoring his debut goal for the Gunners in their 2-2 clash against Manchester City. It’s highly likely that even with a fully fit Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu, the Italian star will be chosen in the left-back position.
Rating: 6.99
CM: Thomas Partey
Much has been made of a potential Partey departure. However, the Ghanaian has put in some relentless and highly advantageous performances to keep the Gunners in the game and earns his spot in the midfield over Italy’s Jorginho.
Rating: 7.08
CM: Mikel Merino
A potentially bizarre inclusion, given the options of Jorginho, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, but the Spanish newcomer - who has made just one substitute appearance in the Premier League - has rated higher than all the above, evidently proving his £32m-worth.
Rating: 7.01
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Hide AdRW: Bukayo Saka
The England ace continues to show why he is one of the highest-regarded wingers in the world. He has contributed two goals and seven assists in the league so far and was involved in all three goals against Southampton last weekend.
Rating: 8.25
LW: Gabriel Martinelli
The Brazilian left winger has enjoyed five starts this season and two further substitute appearances, contributing two goals and two assists for the Gunners already.
Rating: 7.09
ST: Kai Havertz
The Germany international continues to impress having already scored four goals this season. While it was expected the Gunners would sign an out-and-out striker this summer, Arteta will continue to rely upon Havertz as the main striker as no frontman was ultimately acquired.
Rating: 7.49
ST: Leandro Trossard
The Belgian star has swapped about positions nearly ever week so far this campaign. While usually fighting for his place against Martinelli, Trossard has covered for the injured Odegaard as well as the out-of-form Gabriel Jesus, rating much higher than the latter and therefore taking his spot at the top of the pitch.
Rating: 6.69
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Hide AdBoth right-back Ben White and club captain and midfield star Martin Odegaard are unlucky to have missed out on making the cut with respective ratings of 6.78 and 6.91. However, the statistics indicate both Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino have been more impressive in White and Odegaard’s roles with both the Englishman and Norwegian currently contending with injury concerns.
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