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The penultimate month of the 2024/25 season was a busy one for Arsenal, who played eight times in April.
The month kick-started with the long-awaited return of Bukayo Saka, who (SPOILER ALERT) has just missed out on a podium finish, and concluded with our first Champions League semi-final in 16 years. It's been quite the ride!
As a result of the club's continental ventures, Premier League outings have been shunted down the list of priorities. Indifferent domestic form allowed Liverpool to stroll to the league title at an early juncture, but Arsenal have the chance to potentially one-up their achievement in Munich next month. Let's see.
With eight games taking place, four starts were needed to qualify for our latest Player of the Month award. It proved to be mightily tight at the top, with Saka, Leandro Trossard, and Mikel Merino among those who barely missed out on a top-three berth.
Here's our April 2025 Arsenal Player of the Month award.
3. Jakub Kiwior (Average rating - 7.3)
Arsenal's world seemed to be collapsing when Gabriel limped off with a hamstring injury just 15 minutes into the Gunners' first game of April at home to Fulham.
We'd later learn that the stalwart defender would require surgery and thus miss the remainder of the season, leaving Kiwior to fill the Brazilian's sizeable void.
Fears pervaded across the fanbase, but we needn't have worried. Kiwiow immediately produced a sturdy performance against Everton and has struggled to put a foot wrong since. He was particularly impressive alongside William Saliba in the two legs with Real Madrid.
There's a sense that teams haven't quite got at the distinct weak link in Arsenal's backline since Kiwior replaced Gabriel, but that shouldn't take away from the defender's consistency. He scored his first goal for the club in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace towards the end of April.
2. Myles Lewis-Skelly (Average rating - 7.33)
It's another second-place finish for the teenager, who was edged out by his Hale End mate Ethan Nwaneri in February.
Lewis-Skelly started six of Arsenal's eight games in April with Riccardo Calafiori out injured, saving his finest work for the big occasion. His fearless swagger manifested wonderfully against the superstars of Madrid, with the 18-year-old shining in the first leg of the quarter-final.
No stage is seemingly too big for Lewis-Skelly, who may well have saved the club a few quid this summer. The full-back we surely would've signed doesn't appear a necessity as a result of the teen's rise.
However, his future might reside in the middle of the park full time.
1. Declan Rice (Average rating - 7.375)
Even if Arsenal fail to overturn a 1-0 deficit in Paris, Rice's night against the 15-time Champions League winners will live long in Gunners folklore.
The midfielder has returned to the level of his debut campaign during the second half of his sophomore, starring in a myriad of roles in midfield which alter subtly by the game.
Rice recorded a rating of 7.0 or above in six of his eight starts, peaking on home soil against Madrid. Those two free-kicks rocked the footballing world.
After failing to claim our POTM award all season, Rice has now triumphed back-to-back.