Gabriel gets big move, Saka injury hint and Dowman role confirmed as Arsenal squad photo examined

Arsenal's first-team squad have come together for this season's official photocall.

It has been a busy week already for the Gunners, with Mikel Arteta'ssquad flying to Bilbao and beating Athletic Club 2-0 in the Champions League. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard ensured a decent start to the European campaign, with attention now turning to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Before facing Pep Guardiola's side, though, the Arsenal squad came together to take the official squad photo for the 2025/26 season. After a summer of change, there were plenty of obvious absentees with the likes of Jorginho, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling and Neto having left the club over the summer.

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There were plenty of new faces, however, while the players currently nursing injuries were also involved. To give supporters a sense of how it all went down, the club has released images from the shoot at London Colney and football.london picks out four notable things that caught the eye.

Gabriel moves

In the whole squad photo, Arteta can be seen front and centre, with club captain Martin Odegaard and vice captain Bukayo Saka either side of the Spaniard. In addition, Gabriel Magalhaes is sat next to Odegaard while Declan Rice is sat next to Saka.

These four senior players form part of the leadership group at the club and it is Gabriel's place next to Odegaard which is somewhat interesting. In the 2024/25 squad photo, the Brazilian was not sat in the front row and instead stood behind Odegaard, next to centre-back partner William Saliba, in the second row. Gabriel Jesus was the player sat next to Odegaard on that occasion but it appears that Gabriel has now taken the place of the striker in the leadership group.

New faces

Andrea Berta was incredibly busy during his first transfer window at Arsenal, with the club spending more than £260million on fresh talent. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie all joined the Gunners to give Arteta some much-needed depth.

As expected, all eight players featured in the official team photo. None were sat down in the front row but Zubimendi, Madueke, Gyokeres, Mosquera, Norgaard and Eze can be seen in the second row, with Hincapie and Kepa in the back row.

Injury hints

A handful of senior stars are currently sidelined with injury, including Saka, Jesus, Kai Havertz, Ben White and Odegaard. The latter two are close to returning and may even play a part against Manchester City on Sunday, whereas the other three are at different stages.

Saka is closing in on a return from a hamstring injury and could return in the coming weeks, while Havertz underwent knee surgery at the end of last month and is expected to return in November. Jesus, too, is also recovering from a knee injury, although his is much more serious and he may not return until December.

Despite their injuries, all five aforementioned players were involved in the team photo and all appeared to be in good spirits. Arteta will be hoping to have a clean bill of health sooner rather than later ahead of what promises to be a gruelling 2025/26 season.

Dowman squad status confirmed

In the back row of the squad photo stands 15-year-old Max Dowman. After an impressive pre-season, the teenager has already made two Premier League appearances this season, with his debut coming against Leeds United in gameweek two.

It's been quite the rise for Dowman, who is now genuinely considered a part of the first team, if going on the official team photo. The future is bright.