Arsenal will kick off their Premier League campaign on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have beaten Gary O’Neil’s side in their last five clashes and will be looking to continue the trend when they get their season underway.
Mike Arteta’s side jetted off to the USA over pre-season; they faced Bournemouth, Manchester United, and Liverpool in the States before further friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon. Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Aaron Ramsdale returned late after a prolonged period away from the squad as they recovered from their Euro 2024 participation.
Arteta has employed some alternative tactics over pre-season – he even hired professional pickpockets at a team dinner with the idea of keeping his players alert ahead of the campaign. Arsenal finished second in each of the last two Premier League seasons but they took the title race to the final day last term, missing out by two points to eventual winners Manchester City.
It is likely that Pep Guardiola and Arteta will be going head-to-head once again this term. Arsenal boasted the best defence in the division last season but strengthened their options with the addition of Italian Riccardo Calafiori in a £42m deal.
