Arsenal begin their Premier League title defence on Friday night at home to Coventry, aiming to win back-to-back league titles for the first time since the 1934-35 season. The long wait is the latest challenge Mikel Arteta is tasked with ending.
In the days after Arsenal sealed the Premier League title last season, co-chair Josh Kroenke was already eyeing more. "We think we have a chance here to dominate," he declared.
The case for Arsenal defending the title
Arsenal are favourites to defend their title and rightly so. Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are all in transition under new managers and have big questions to answer. There is a decent argument that even standing still will be enough for Arsenal this season.
The Gunners have the stability under Arteta and a formula that they know works. They might not always hit their top level, but the team's floor has become very high — rarely are Arsenal well-beaten.
Arteta also now has one of the very best midfields in the world at his disposal. Bruno Guimaraes is a brilliant signing and immediately slotted in well in the Community Shield. He can play alongside Declan Rice but also offer opportunities to rest the Englishman. Guimaraes elevates the technical level of the team and will progress the ball up the pitch quickly, suiting Martin Odegaard and the attackers.
Ezri Konsa, meanwhile, is an astute bit of business, covering two positions in defence and able to slot in immediately with his Premier League experience without any fuss.
A lot has been made of Arsenal's need to strengthen further in attack, but there are reasons to believe the forwards currently at the club are enough. Arsenal won the league last season with Bukayo Saka not fully fit for much of the second half of the season. Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz had long spells out injured, while Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke contributed almost nothing in terms of goal involvements in the Premier League. Still they won the league.
If Arsenal can keep the likes of Saka, Havertz and Odegaard fit, the attack will improve significantly, particularly with Christos Tzolis already looking like an upgrade out wide.
The case against Arsenal defending the title
This is a far harder case to make. As it stands, everything points to this being a title Arsenal should be confident of securing. However, if there is an area of concern, it is the long-term absence of William Saliba, who is expected to be out for months.
The Frenchman is one of the best centre-backs in the world and cannot easily be replaced. Cristhian Mosquera has real potential but he cannot be expected to be as composed and as consistent as Saliba has been. Gabriel will also miss the calming presence of his usual centre-back partner.
Arsenal's title bid collapsed in the 2022-23 season when Saliba was injured. They are a much better side now with far more strength in depth, but he will still be sorely missed. That is accentuated by Jurrien Timber, who is also out and still "weeks" away from a return after minor groin surgery over the summer.
Further up the pitch, Arsenal have not kicked on from a position of strength as champions to secure a real superstar. There might be enough to get the job done by sharing the goals around, but the Gunners are still lacking a genuine goalscorer up front. Even though Viktor Gyokeres scored 21 goals in all competitions last season, he still looks an awkward fit for this side and how they want to play.
Fatigue and motivation concerns
There is also the question of fatigue. Declan Rice played 69 matches for club and country last season. He and Saka have not yet started a match since joining up with Arsenal ahead of the new season. Including Konsa, the Gunners had 16 players at the World Cup and nine of those made it to the final weekend.
After a gruelling season in which Arsenal competed on all four fronts, it will be a big ask for this squad to go again. That also brings in the question of motivation. After three consecutive seasons of finishing second, Arsenal finally climbed their Everest to claim the title. That was the moment this project has been building to. Resetting and maintaining that intensity, even with a manager as demanding as Arteta, is no easy task.
