By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-08-18 15:01:27 | Updated at 2026-08-20 01:25:39
1 day ago
Arsenal enter the 2026-27 Premier League season in a position of strength, while many of their rivals are dealing with major changes. But defending a title has rarely been easy, and several key questions could decide whether the champions stay on top or not.
For the first time in 22 years, Arsenal begin a Premier League season as reigning champions. The challenge now is simple: prove last season was not the peak, but instead was the start of something more enduring.
Those expectations will have only grown after a commanding 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield. Results in that fixture should always be treated with caution. After all, only one of the previous 15 Community Shield winners has gone on to lift the Premier League trophy that season. But the manner of Arsenal’s performance was convincing nonetheless.
Their 3-0 win was the largest margin of victory in the Community Shield since they beat Manchester City by the same scoreline in 2014. In what was Enzo Maresca’s first competitive game in charge of City, Arsenal looked sharper, more cohesive and more settled.
A sense of continuity is one of the main reasons they are rightly tagged as favourites to win the title again this season. While many of their rivals are navigating managerial changes, squad overhauls or both, Arsenal enter the season with a clear identity and a group that has grown together over several years.
They kick off the Premier League season on Friday against Coventry City. Before then, here are five questions that could define whether they retain their crown.
Does Continuity Give Arsenal a Killer Advantage?
Next season will be the first since the Premier League’s inception in 1992 not to feature any of the main managerial figures who defined its modern era. No Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsené Wenger, José Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola.
Over the summer, we’ve seen unprecedented levels of manager turnover. Almost half the division will begin the season under new leadership, with nine clubs changing managers.
Nine managers taking charge of their first league game with a club on the opening weekend will be the most in a top-flight season since 1946-47, the first campaign after the Second World War.
Among Arsenal’s realistic title rivals, only Michael Carrick at Manchester United and Unai Emery at Aston Villa were already in place before this summer. Even then, both clubs are considered outsiders by the Opta supercomputer, with United given a 6.2% chance of winning the title and Villa 4.8%.
When looking at the current tenure of every Premier League manager, Mikel Arteta is comfortably the longest-serving head coach in the division. The club have committed fully to him over a six-year rebuild and were rewarded handsomely last year.
It’s only a sample of one game, but the team that beat City in the Community Shield looked like one primed to challenge again. In total, 74% of Arsenal’s minutes in that match were played by footballers in what might be considered their peak years (24-29), while David Raya was the only player over 30 to feature.
With many major rivals entering periods of transition both on and off the pitch, the timing looks ripe for Arsenal to put their foot on the pedal. They deserve their status as favourites.
How Difficult Is It to Win Back-to-Back Premier League Titles?
Like many Premier League records, our perception of what is ‘normal’ has been distorted by Guardiola’s Manchester City. Before City’s era of dominance, defending a Premier League title was rare.
Guardiola made it look anything but; between 2017-18 and 2023-24, City won six of seven league titles and successfully defended their crown on four occasions.
Before Pep’s first title, though, the trophy had changed hands in each of the previous eight seasons. The last successful title defence before his arrival came back in 2009, when Man Utd secured a third consecutive league crown.
Before Guardiola, only two managers had overseen successful Premier League title defences: Sir Alex Ferguson at United and José Mourinho at Chelsea.
Arsenal have not successfully retained the top-flight title since 1935, when they became just the second club in English football history to win three successive league championships.
With the pressure of ending a long wait for a title now lifted, Arsenal’s challenge is maintaining the performance levels that got them there in the first place. Arteta has a fantastic opportunity to add his name to that illustrious group of coaches who’ve successfully defended their league crown.
Are There Defensive Concerns Without Saliba and Timber?
It’s no secret that Arsenal’s title triumph was built on their rock-solid defence.
They conceded just 27 goals in the league last season, eight fewer than any other side. They were well worth that, too, with their underlying numbers equally as strong. Arsenal conceded just 28.3 expected goals (xG) across their domestic campaign, the best figure not only in England but across Europe’s top five leagues.
Their average of 0.74 xG conceded per game is the fourth-lowest figure ever recorded by a team on record (since 2012-13) in the Premier League.
Maintaining those standards may prove difficult, however, not just because they’re so hard to achieve in the first place, but also given that Arsenal have several key absences at the start of the season.
William Saliba, one half of the league’s strongest centre-back partnership last year, is expected to miss much of the year. The France international was carrying a back injury during the World Cup and has since entered a rehabilitation programme.
The club confirmed that Saliba would be sidelined for an extended period, with some pessimistic reports suggesting he may not return until later in the year.
Jurriën Timber will also miss the start of the campaign as he recovers from the groin injury that disrupted the closing months of last season. The Dutchman returned briefly for the Champions League final but subsequently underwent surgery after missing the World Cup.
Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera are reliable alternatives, but neither are a true like-for-like replacement for what Saliba and Timber offer at their best.
It will take a lot for Arsenal to replicate their defensive numbers from last season. If there is a slight regression at the back, can they compensate elsewhere?
Can Arsenal Keep Leaning So Heavily On Set-Pieces?
They will certainly try to.
Alongside their defensive solidity, Arsenal’s efficiency from set-pieces was a defining feature of their title-winning campaign. They scored 19 goals from corners, setting a new Premier League record in the process.
They scored another 10 from other dead balls – four from free-kicks, four penalties and twice from throw-ins. Their total of 29 set-piece goals was comfortably the highest in the division.
No side came close to matching their dominance in this aspect of the game. Arsenal posted a league-high +14.1 xG differential from set-piece situations, a full 5.1 xG better than second-best Brentford. That just shows how comprehensively they outperformed their opponents in both boxes.
The arrival of Christos Tzolis should further strengthen their ability from dead balls. Eight of his 23 assists in the Belgian top flight last season came from set-piece situations (34.7%), the fifth-highest figure of any player to register five or more assists. He’s already shown his ability to whip inswinging corners in from the left, picking up an assist in a pre-season friendly against Real Betis.
However, new refereeing directives might limit how effective Arsenal can be at set-pieces, particularly corners. Officials have been instructed to adopt a stricter interpretation of holding and grappling during set-pieces this season.
The guidance states that officials will increase recognition of “clear holding actions that have clear material impact” and “non-footballing holding actions”. As part of a trial, VAR will also be able to review incidents before a set-piece if they directly lead to a goal, penalty or disciplinary sanction.
It will be fascinating to see whether those changes have any tangible effect on one of Arsenal’s greatest strengths.
Have Arsenal Done Enough to Strengthen In Attack?
Arsenal scored just 71 goals in the 2025-26 campaign. That’s not a lot for a Premier League-winning side. In fact, just four title-winners have scored fewer than 71 goals across the 33 seasons of completed Premier League action; Arsenal themselves have even scored more than that in 15 different seasons.
If last summer Arsenal’s main quest was trying to find a goalscoring centre-forward, this transfer window the priority has been an upgrade on the left side of attack.
Bukayo Saka has endured an injury-disrupted time over the last few seasons, but there’s no doubting his quality. When fully fit, he remains one of the world’s elite wide players.
The issue is that Arsenal’s attacks can be right-heavy. They can become reliant on him.
Even in a season when Saka’s minutes were limited, 42.5% of Arsenal’s open-play chances came from the right flank, the highest proportion in the Premier League.
For all of Leandro Trossard’s intelligence and cult-hero status, and Gabriel Martinelli’s pace and directness, neither consistently influenced games at the same level as Saka.
Arsenal failed to land marquee moves for Morgan Rogers or Vinícius Júnior who would have been genuine upgrades on the left. Instead, they opted for the more calculated signing of Tzolis. The early signs have been encouraging, with the Greek winger grabbing a goal and four assists in his first four pre-season appearances. But he does, however, remain unproven at Premier League level. He’ll likely share minutes on the left with Martinelli.
Beyond that addition, Arsenal have not significantly reinforced their forward line. Viktor Gyökeres and Kai Havertz again appear set to compete for the central striker role.
Gyökeres had a respectable debut campaign but did not deliver the explosive impact many anticipated. Seven players finished the season with more non-penalty Premier League goals than his 11.
Much of Arsenal’s attacking improvement may therefore come from improved availability rather than new signings. Martin Ødegaard, Saka and Havertz all missed significant stretches of last season. Ødegaard featured in only 35% of available league minutes, while Saka played just 57%.
Keeping their key creators and scorers fit would naturally raise the ceiling of Arsenal’s attack without them having to add anyone new.
Arsenal have prioritised quality over quantity in the transfer market. Bruno Guimarães brings physicality, technical quality and added attacking contribution from midfield. Just as importantly, his presence should ease the burden on Declan Rice and give Arteta greater flexibility across a long campaign.
Whether or not they land an extra attacker, this remains the Premier League’s most settled squad, led by its most established manager. In a season when many rivals are beginning anew, anything less than another Premier League title would represent a disappointment.
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