After finishing five points off Manchester City two seasons ago and two behind in May, Arsenal‘s challenge for the upcoming campaign is clear: surpass City’s points tally.
It will be a tall order given the calibre of opposition but if they succeed, the Premier League trophy may well return to north London for the first time since 2004.
Arsenal appear to be the best-equipped side to capitalise on any slip in standards from Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering champions.
City haven’t shown much sign of a decline in recent times. In the past 18 months, Pep Guardiola’s side have won the treble and clinched a fourth successive league title, an unprecedented feat in English football. Their consistency over a prolonged period is proven by six domestic titles in the last seven years
Arteta compared going toe-to-toe with them to “trying to climb the highest mountain,” and “making the most difficult leap in the world,” ahead of Arsenal’s opening game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“With the level we are competing with every season is getting harder,” he admitted. “We are going to have to improve again.”
There is a sense outside the club that this could be Arsenal’s year, given the year-on-year progression they have made. Internally, a talented, driven squad are determined to end the Citizens’ hegemonic reign. Their plan to unseat City from their throne began after the 2-1 win against Everton on the final day of last season.
“We had a gathering together with all the club players and the players were saying to me ‘we’re going to be better, we’re going to do it, we want more.’ They are the ones driving that ambition,” Arteta said.
“Everybody was talking about the same thing, that we are not going to stop here and that we want much more. We know the things that we can still do better and how the players can still evolve.”
The Gunners have noticeably matured since their surprise title tilt in 2022-23 fizzled out with 12 points from a final nine games. Last season they dropped just four points from January onwards, against City at the Etihad and an excellent Aston Villa at home.
It was a lesson in fine margins. One minor misstep on the high wire is enough to come crashing down. Arsenal cannot be anything other than perfect in their quest to become champions, although the goalposts may be shifted if the Premier League imposes sanctions on City for their alleged breaches of financial regulations.
News this week that the hearing into City’s 115 charges has been brought forward to next month provides another sliver of excitement to an already intriguing title race. A verdict could arrive as early as January and possible punishments include points deductions or even relegation.
Arteta will not allow that sideshow to become a distraction, but the impending hearing adds to the sense of uncertainty swirling around City.
This is likely to be Guardiola’s last dance in Manchester. It could be Kevin De Bruyne’s too, with the Belgian out of contract next summer and the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia. There has been speculation that Ederson could also head to the Middle East.
While Arsenal are yet to peak, City’s golden cycle seems to be coming to an end. They are weaker now than they were in May with Julian Alvarez leaving for Atletico Madrid and yet to be replaced. Arsenal, on the other hand, are stronger.
The signing of Riccardo Calafiori for £42m from Bologna gives Arteta greater depth and flexibility in defence.
“Availability in the backline was a big issue for us,” Arteta conceded. “We were really short last year. Thank God we had Ben [White], Willy [Saliba] and Gabi [Magalhaes] fit almost the entire season. We can’t replicate that two seasons in a row.”
For the first time in his Arsenal career, Gabriel has credible competition at centre-back from the Italian. Calafiori began his career at Roma as a left-back and may be the answer to what has become a problem position for Arteta in an inverted role.
The benefit of having the best defence in the Premier League is that Arteta can wait to integrate Calafiori. He has barely featured in pre-season, with Arteta easing him in slowly.
Calafiori could soon be joined by Mikel Merino, the Real Sociedad midfielder who became a European champion in June. A deal worth £30m is reportedly close.
Merino would improve an area of Arteta’s squad that is already strong. The 28-year-old is an atypical Spanish midfielder, renowned more for his aerial prowess than his passing ability. He will make an already physically powerful team even more dominant.
Arsenal certainly looked well prepared to attack the new campaign when demolishing the Bundesliga’s Invincibles Bayer Leverkusen earlier this month.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and William Saliba returned early after reaching the latter stages of the Euros to ensure they are ready to go. A statement win against Wolves would set a marker for the next 10 months.
