A quick look at the Arsenal team who took to the field in Mikel Arteta's first game is evidence of the mass transformation this squad has undergone.

In those early days, he had to rely on the likes of Sokratis and David Luiz at the back. In attack, Nicolas Pepe was still trying to make a name for himself in English football.

Now, the Gunners are a laughing stock no more. They are Premier League winners again and Champions League finalists.

That would not have happened without a bit of ruthlessness. At one stage, Emile Smith Rowe played a huge part in even keeping Arteta in the job. Aaron Ramsdale also looked like their best gloveman in years. For the pair of them, it sadly ended in tears.

What went wrong for Smith Rowe at Arsenal

Before Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman came along, Smith Rowe was seen as one of the best young players to come through the academy ranks.

He and Bukayo Saka were like two peas in a pod and with Arsenal stuck in a real rut following the end of Unai Emery's tenure, Arteta called on the both as a form of comfort for supporters. They were the rays of light at the end of the tunnel.

Under Arteta's tutelage, Smith Rowe quickly went from the number 32 to the historic number 10 shirt and it was well deserved.

After loan spells at RB Leipzig and Huddersfield Town, the young attacking midfielder eventually rose to prominence back at the Emirates Stadium. In 2020/21, Arteta's first full season, he scored four goals and registered seven assists. 2021/22 was the best campaign of his career, netting 11 times. He earned an England call-up in the process.

Yet, in the following two seasons, he did not score another goal for Arsenal. Why? Well, a series of injuries and a lack of availability meant he was quickly surpassed in the pecking order as Arteta's squad got better and better.

In total, the Englishman misssed 78 matches, nearly two full seasons worth of football during his time as a senior Arsenal player. That said, he also fell out of favour with Arteta. Such a huge amount of football missed meant he could never build up any meaningful rhythm. So, come 2023, he made the hardest decision of his career; to leave.

What went wrong for Ramsdale at Arsenal

In the case of Ramsdale, his Arsenal career is rather different to Smith Rowe's. It's rather more brutal too.

In August 2021, the Gunners signed the goalkeeper from Sheffield United for a fee of £24m. This was a move met with scepticism. He had been relegated in back-to-back seasons with the Blades and Bournemouth.

Yet, initially, he did not play like a goalkeeper deserving of the drop on two occasions. Ramsdale won over Arsenal fans, not just with his performances between the sticks but with his personality too. He loved reiling up opposition supporters, he loved getting stuck in and this struck a chord with the fanbase at the Emirates.

After being handed a new deal in the summer of 2023, the same year Smith Rowe left, it looked as though the goalkeeper would be Arteta's number one for many a year to come.

That, however, was far from reality. The Gunners signed David Raya on an initial loan deal and after the conclusion of the first international break of the 2023/24 campaign, Ramsdale was replaced. Why? Well, Arteta wanted more security. A moment against Southampton a season prior was perhaps decisive. In a horror 3-3 draw with Southampton he made a terrible blunder, passing the ball straight to Charly Alcarez who scored.

A lack of concentration, a lack of decisiveness in the vital moments is why Arteta turned to Raya. It has been a masterstroke; he is now one of the best stoppers in the world.

Big-money Arsenal star must be handed the Ramsdale & Smith Rowe treatment

Arteta is a ruthless coach. We've not just seen that with Ramsdale and Smith Rowe but with many other players throughout his tenure in north London.

When upgrades are required, the Spaniard doesn't often waste much time. He has cast Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to one side in the space of a few years. After winning the league, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard were also told to find new clubs.

Now, just a matter of weeks after their exits, the hierarchy must surely be thinking of handing a certain Eberechi Eze the same treatment.

Why? Well, his time at the Emirates has been incredibly topsy-turvy in nature. Signed for £67m in the summer of 2025 from Crystal Palace, it was a remarkable signing.

Arsenal beat rivals Tottenham Hotspur to his signature, for him to then score five goals against them throughout last season. That included a stunning hat-trick in the Premier League.

Yet, beyond that, there has not been a huge amount to shout about for Eze. The fact is that this is a player who the manager doesn't trust very much. That was clear to see following the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park last December.

He failed to track Matty Cash in the build-up to the first goal and was subsequently subbed at half-time. Eze played 57 minutes of the next match with Wolves but then didn't play a single minute of the four following Premier League fixtures.

While the attacker did earn some of that trust back towards the end of last season, he doesn't exactly have it at the start of the new campaign.

With Trossard and Martinelli departing, Eze has been handed a role on the left wing but Christos Tzolis has been the preferred option thus far. Eze's performances against Napoli and Ipswich in the two cup competitions of late show why.

Against Napoli, Arsenal had 26 shots but only one of them was taken by the Englishman. He only created two chances and won just two of his seven duels. Versus Ipswich, while Max Dowman and Noni Madueke really caught the eye, Eze did not. He had just one shot on this occasion and completed just one of his four dribbles.

The fact is that he is lacking a spark, the same spark that made him one of the best players in England during his time at Crystal Palace.

As a result, with Arsenal still craving a genuine elite left winger, it would not be a surprise if an upgrade was brought in to replace him in one of the next two transfer windows. Like Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Jesus and Zinchenko, Arteta needs to get ruthless again here.